Reading Wakfu Chronicles of the Lost Ninja(English Translation)
by Curious Kitsune654
Summary: English Version of Braukliok99's work. Our shinobis are gathered to read the fate of a friend who was petrified and forgotten in time
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Wakfu or Naruto franchises. This reading is not my work, but a translated version of Brauliok99's, so if you have any comments, complaints, or such please speak with him.

Reading: Wakfu: Chronicles of the Lost Ninja (English Translation)

-Chapter One-

Inside a large circular office, a busty blonde woman could be seen working through a large pile of paperwork with a depressed look.

This was Tsunade Senju, Hokage of Konoha, the Slug Sannin, world renown medic, and currently the saddest she had ever been in her entire life. Just a few days ago she had woken up from a coma expecting to see a certain whiskered blond teen she'd cared about, only to learn that he had been turned into a literal statue by an unknown jutsu.

She'd immediately gotten her best scientist on the issue and had them researching and testing nonstop ever since, but with little to no success. Tsunade tried to keep a brave face for the others, but with each passing day, the elderly woman in disguise was slowly losing hope that they'd ever get Naruto free.

It didn't help that she had well over thirty different Sake bottles on her desk, each in varying states of fullness.

She wasn't the only one affected either, almost every person that knew Naruto was down in the dumps about what had happened to him. His teammate Sakura, had all but buried herself in her work as Tsunade's apprentice, while their sensei Kakashi joined the research teams, both trying to stave off the sadness by keeping busy.

Most of the remaining Konoha Eleven had done their best to remain positive, focusing on rebuilding Konoha for 'when' Naruto was freed and could come back. The only exception to this was Hinata, who'd broken down almost entirely upon hearing about her crush's condition while she was hospitalized.

Once she'd recovered, the Hyuga had basically begged to be able to assist the researchers as well, only for Tsunade to reluctantly turn her down. She'd already allocated to many ninja as it was, and they needed all the active ninja they could get on missions to bring in the income they needed to recover.

Even her other apprentice/secretary Shizune, who was normally the definition of composed and professional, wasn't much better as she dragged herself into the office, her eyes bloodshot and her brown hair a total mess.

"I miss that gaki's constant yelling, constantly going on about his promises and how he'd take my hat one day." The hokage said with a sigh as she accepted the paperwork. "It's just too quiet here without him."

Shizune nodded tiredly as she flopped into a nearby chair with an air of melancholy. "He certainly livened up the place, that's for sure."

"Understatement of the year," Tsunade said with a dry chuckle while reaching for one of the fuller Sake jars. Unfortunately, thanks to the already slightly inebriated state she was in, she accidentally reached just a little too far to the right and ended up knocking the alcoholic beverage off her desk. "Kuso!"

Moving mostly on reflex, both Tsunade and Shizune bolted up to catch the falling liquor, only to freeze in shock as they saw the bottle suddenly stop in mid-air all by itself. Immediately on high alert at this, the two women got into ready stances expecting another attack from Akatsuki.

Before either of them could blink however, the both of them seemed to just pop out of existence, unaware that the same thing was happening to several other specific individuals all over Konoha.

-Unknown Location-

Tsunade blinked in confusion as she was greeted with the feeling of cold smooth stone against her back and the sight of an unending void of blackness above her. As her brain kicked into gear though, her instincts flared into action and she hopped onto her feet in one smooth motion and quickly started taking in her surroundings.

All around her she found her Shizune, Sakura, Kakashi, Team 8, Team 9, and the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were in varying states of surprise and grogginess as they got up from the dull grey marble ground (Too lazy to write descriptions of them all, if you don't know what they look like google it). "Alright, can someone tell me what the hell just happened?"

"Trust me Tsunade-Hime, that's just one of the questions we all want answered." The pigtailed blonde stiffened as a familiar male voice entered her ears, causing her head to slowly turn to the source until she was facing the source, a grey-haired man wearing a long red cloak standing just to the side of the group. Standing beside him was a blond-haired man with a similar cloak, only white with red flames at the bottom, and a redheaded woman wearing a green dress.

These were Jiraiya, the self-proclaimed super pervert, Minato, the forth hokage of Konoha, and Kushina, the red-hot-habanero.

They were also dead, or at least, they were supposed to be.

Tears starting to run down her face, Tsunade ran over to where Jiraiya was as the man held his arms out for a hug…

*BAM* "You Baka!"

…And was instead greeted with a punch to the face that sent him several inches into thee ground. Off to the side, Kushina held up a small paper with a bold 10 on it while Minato palmed his face.

"Do you have any idea how upset Naruto was when he found out you died?! Or how heartbroken I was when I lost yet another loved one?!" The emotional blonde demanded as she pulled the old man out of the ground and shook him around like a rag doll, before pulling him into a backbreaking hug as she cried softly into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Hime, you know I never meant to hurt you or Naruto," Jiraiya said while rubbing Tsunade's back softly. "But we both knew that me dying was a very plausible risk when I went to infiltrate the Akatsuki's base."

As those two finished their little reunion moment and began to recompose themselves, the rest of the Konoha ninja and the red and blond duo got introduced or reunited Kakashi's case. "Minato-sensei, Kushina-Sempai, it's great to see you both again." The silver-haired man as he walked up to the pair.

"You too Kakashi, though this wasn't exactly how I expected we'd meet up again." Minato said, pulling his old student into a brief hug. "However, as much as I'd love to just stand around catching up, I do believe it be best if we figure out what's going on first."

"Right as usual Sensei," Kakashi said with a sigh.

After making sure their abilities were working, they swiftly eliminated the possibility of what was happening being any form of Genjutsu, that or it was one so powerful that even a Byakugan, Sharigan, and their resident Genjutsu expert were unable to break through.

A quick exam by Tsunade also threw out the theory of Minato, Kushina, and Jiraiya being resurrected with the Edo Tensei.

In fact, other than the fact that they were surrounded by nothing but endless void and solid rock with three people that by all rights should be six feet under, there seemed to be absolutely nothing of interest to be found.

Eventually, they were left with no other options but to wait and see what happened. During which, most of the older ninja got a small kick out of seeing the younger generation learn of Kushina and Minato's being both famous members of Konoha's ninja corps and Naruto's parents.

Thankfully though, they didn't have to wait long as a loud thundering rang through the air, setting the large group on edge as the 'sky' above them seemed to split open. From this crack, two young men fell out and crashed into the ground.

Both were unaware of their audience as they were more focused on trying to crush the other's windpipe. However, before any of the ninja could get themselves involved in the scuffle, the pair finally noticed they were there and quickly cleaned themselves up.

"We'll finish this talk later." Spoke the guy on the left said as he dusted himself off. He wore a plain black tux with a red tie, had short untidy brown hair, and a lightly tanned complexion.

"Fine, but only because we already got the whole band together already." The other guy said dully, wearing an identical outfit but with much longer hair and a face that looked disturbingly similar to one Madara Uchiha.

"Uh, excuse me, but who the hell are you two and what the fuck is going on?" Tsunade demanded, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Ah, my apologies, where are my manners" The short-haired man said before clearing his throat. "My name is Brauliok99, or Liok if you prefer, and my companion here is Drako. Don't take his harsh words too seriously, he's just a fragment of the snappy and pessimistic part of my mind given form."

"Fuck you too." Drako grunted out while flipping Liok off with both hands before continuing where the shorter haired man left off. "The reason you're all here is simply, to discover what happened to your friend Naruto."

"Something happened to my son!? What did you do to him!?" Kushina yelled as she, Minato, and Jiraiya tried to charge the two teens and demand answers, only to end up bouncing of a hexagonal barrier that popped up around the pair.

"Relax Kushina-san, your son is fine." Liok said with his hands held up placatingly.

"Yeah, if you call being turned into a chunk of unbreakable rock fine." Drako added with a roll of his eyes, ignoring the annoyed glare he got from his partner as three earsplitting "WHAT!?"'s filled the air.

"If you want to know more, ask the old hag." He said while jabbing a finger at Tsunade, who growled at him angrily, before rapidly paling as the trio turned towards her for answers. As the busty blonde medic did her best to explain Naruto's 'condition' to her teammate and the boy's concerned parents, Hinata nervously walked up to Drako to ask him what he knew about her crush.

However, the moment she got within five feet of the Madara-lookalike, he suddenly leveled a harsh glare on her that caused her to flinch back. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your distance, Stalker." He said coldly, making everyone in the area look at him in surprise.

"OI! Hinata-chan is not a stalker!" Kiba yelled angrily.

"Sure she's not, and I'm a happy-go-lucky guy that loves pop music and powder blue Mopeds." Drako said sarcastically while snapping his fingers, causing a comfortable leather recliner to appear with a light pop that he flopped into. "Liok, just get this stupid introduction over with so we can get to the good shit."

"Again, sorry about him." Liok said with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, I am part of a race called 'Authors', beings that create and monitor a plethora of worlds throughout the various universes. And yes, before any of you start yelling, I do know how crazy I sound right now."

"Just a little bit." Ino said sarcastically while the others nodded or muttered their agreement.

Rolling his eyes at this Liok continued. "Anyway, the Author that manages your world gave me permission to set up this little get together to show you all what is to happen to your friend, son, student, whatever it is Naruto is to you guys, with this here book." The guy reached into his jacket and pulled out a moderately sized blue colored leather-bound book with a spiral and plain black writing on the cover.

"And if we don't want to do this?" Kurenai asked cautiously, all the gathered ninja slowly raising up their hands in preparation for anything.

"Then we'll promptly dump your dumbass right back where we grabbed it from." Drako said with a shrug, before yelping when Liok kicked him in the shin.

"In less crude terms, we'll take you home and that'll be the end of it." The shorter haired man said calmly. "But before you take that option, ask yourselves this. Do you really want to give up this chance to see what's going to happen?" He asked while twirling the book on his index finger.

Upon receiving no response, the teen smirked while stopping the book between two fingers. "That's what I thought. Drako, if you'd please?"

"About damn time," The long-haired guy grumbled while snapping his fingers again. In an instant, the marble ground was replaced with cushy red carpet, and a basic looking room formed around them all. This was then followed by a large television with two large U-bend couches with tables in the middle and signs, one reading 'adults' and the other 'children'.

"Uh, what's with the kid section?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow, before jumping in surprise as he blinked and found himself seated in said section alongside his teammates, his dog partner Akamaru, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Meanwhile, everyone else from Konoha had been moved to the 'adult' seats. "HOI!"

Ignoring the dog boy's indignant shout, Liok walked across the room until he stood before the group once more. "Now, before we begin, there are a few things you should know. First, as you read the book, the events happening will be projected on the screen behind me. Second, most questions will be answered as the reading goes on, so please try and be patient. Third, you won't have to worry about missing anything while you're here since this place runs at a faster time plane then your world."

"How much faster exactly?" Tsunade asked, since that had been one of her larger concerns.

"It would take roughly a century here for a single second to pass in craterville." Drako said bluntly from his recliner that was now seated between the two couches, once again ignoring the angry looks sent his way.

"Fourth…" Liok cut in before anything could happen, "…if any of you get hungry or thirsty, just ask and whatever dish you want will appear-"

"Sake." All the 'adults' said quickly, causing a jar of the alcoholic beverage alongside several saucers to appear in front of each of them.

"-before you. And finally, fifth, when you need to use the bathroom they are at the back, boys on the left and girls on the right. Drako, did I forget anything?"

"Just the fact we'll most likely pick up a few more annoying saps as we go." Drako said while conjuring himself up a beer.

"Alright, then let's get started." Liok said while taking a seat next to his mental fragment and casually tossed the book towards the 'adult' couch. Tsunade tried to catch it midair as it passed over, only to fail as it phased right through her hand like it wasn't there and land neatly on a surprised Kushina's lap. "Sorry Tsunade-san, but a mother always gets first dibs."

"Finally, someone who gets it," The redhead said, shooting the Author a grin as she grabbed the book and flipped it open

 **Wakfu: Chronicles of the Lost Ninja**

"Wakfu?" Jiraiya muttered with confusion.

"It's just a different name for chakra." Liok said quickly, getting a nod of understanding from the self-proclaimed super pervert.

 **Chapter 1**

 **"You are quite a marvel Naruto, to have suffered so much yet still retain your belief so strongly. You all the right to exact revenge against me for killing our master yet refuse to in the name of peace." An extremely scraggly, bare chested redheaded man said from an odd walker like machine while a blue haired woman wearing a long black cloak with red clouds stood beside him protectively.**

"That's Naruto for you alright, no matter how bad a person is, that gaki will always try to find the best in them." Tsunade said with a sigh.

"Who's the living skeleton and the blueberry?" Kushina asked, her eyebrow rising as she saw the scene she just read play on the TV.

"Old students of mine that went down a very bad road after losing a close friend." Jiraiya said sadly.

 **His odd rippled purple eyes were focused on a blue eyed blonde teen boy with whiskered cheeks that stood before him, his form battered, and his clothes torn and bloodied.**

"I'm gonna kill those two if we ever meet." Kushina stated as she saw the state of her son, her hair starting to float up in nine distinct groupings.

" **Killing you won't bring Ero-Sennin back, all it will do is prolong the cycle of hatred that he worked so hard to break." Naruto said calmly with just a hint of sadness to it. "So please Nagato, just surrender peacefully and all this madness can end. No more fighting, no more senseless death and destruction." He said while slowly walking towards the pair, making the woman shift slightly in front of the now named Nagato.**

 **"** I couldn't have said it better myself." Jiraiya said, Minato nodding in agreement as proud smiles crossed both their faces.

 **Said redhead seemed to consider what Naruto said for several moments before responding. "I do believe… that you can bring the peace of which you speak. Your eyes hold the confidence… no a conviction just like both Jiraiya-sensei and my close friend Yahiko." He said somberly while gently pushing the woman out of the way much to her confusion.**

"Did anyone else just get a shiver down their spine?" Tsunade asked, get a bunch of raised hands and nods in response. "Crap."

" **I can also see the hypocrisy of my own actions. I claimed to want peace but in order to do so I took the lives of those undeserving of such punishment."**

"Yeah, not the smartest of moves there." Tsunade said dully.

" **A mistake I will now rectify."**

 **As he spoke, Nagato started doing a series of odd motions with his hands that set Naruto on guard while the bluenette became alarmed. "Nagato! What are you doing? That will kill you!" She exclaimed, much to the blonde's confusion as she tried to stop the process only to get stopped by a wall of black metal bars.**

"I do not understand," Shino said with a raised brow. "He said he wishes to fix his mistakes, so why is he doing something that will kill himself?"

"Maybe he's committing suicide as penance for his crimes." Neji suggested.

" **I know it will Konan," Even while speaking to her, Nagato's eyes never wavered from Naruto's as he continued to make hand-seals. "But before it does, there is one last thing I must do." More metal bars suddenly emerged from the ground surrounding the whiskered teen in a complex pattern of symbols.**

"Naruto!" The ninja of Konoha except for Shikamaru, Kurenai, and Kakashi yelled out.

 **Eyes widening in alarm, Naruto tried to jump away only to find he couldn't as the metal markers started glowing a light blue and his feet started to turn to stone. "What is this?!" He demanded.**

"No… please no…" Tsunade whispered quietly, tears starting to form in her eyes as she watched the whiskered blonde start to slowly turn to stone. The others weren't much better, each one wanting to run out and save their friend but knowing that it was already too late.

" **A seal," Nagato said plainly as the color seemed to drain from his hair. "I may believe you will be able to bring peace, but not by yourself and not in this time. Be at ease though, as those who perished this day shall be brought back as my final apology."**

"So that was how myself and everyone else in Konoha were brought back to life after the attack." Kakashi said with a nod as he wiped a stray tear from his only visible eye.

"To do a two complex jutsus like those at the same time would certainly take quite a lot of skill." Shikamaru admitted, feeling a begrudging respect for the dying redhead. "Pointless but skillful, all that will do is delay the troublesome blond."

"I agree with that, minus the troublesome part," Minato said after taking a sip of his sake. "Unfortunately, that Nagato fellow must have thought otherwise."

"Okay, I get that Naruto's a good guy and all," Kiba said somewhat irritably. "Why are you all acting like he'd be the only one to bring peace?"

"Here's a few questions that'll answer yours, who always puts the priorities of others over their own?" Drako asked.

"…Naruto." Kiba grumbled.

"Who would risk their life and/or their dreams just so everyone else could be happy?"

"…Naruto."

"Who allowed themselves to be impaled through the chest, twice, by a blade of lighting just to avoid killing their traitorous best friend in order to keep a pro-"

"ALRIGHT! WE GET IT! Naruto is the only one who would do anything just to help others!" Sakura cut in, a large amount of regret and guilt on her face as she remembered that conflict between Naruto and Sasuke.

Once everyone stopped talking, Kushina began to read again, her heart filled with both pride and sadness. Pride that her son was such a good person, and sadness at not being there to see it happen in person.

" **No, st-" Naruto was cut off midscream as the petrification spread over his lips.**

" **Goodbye Naruto Uzumaki, I hope when we meet again in the afterlife you shall be able to tell me of how you succeeded. Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu. FuinJutsu: Chikyū no nemuri no haha. (Outer Path: Samsara Heavenly Technique. Sealing Technique: Mother of the Earth's Slumber.)" As soon as he finished speaking, Nagato passed away with a smile on his face as Naruto was completely engulfed in stone, leaving him as nothing more than a cold granite-like statue with an expression of outrage, sadness, and a slight tint of fear.**

"My poor boy," Kushina sniffled as she saw this happen on the large screen while Minato did his best to comfort his distraught wife.

 **By the time backup arrived a day later, all anyone would find was that same statue with the engraving under it reading:**

 **-800,000 years give or take a millennium later-**

"HOW MANY YEARS?!" Most of the 'children' group yelled out in shock, only to be pointedly shushed by an irritated Drako. Meanwhile, the 'adult' group remained entirely silent, though no less surprised at the massive passage of time.

"' **Only one with a pure heart shall reawaken the bringer of peace', or at least that's what I think it says. This is ancient text after all." A mostly bald old man with a thick white beard and holding a large golden shovel said as he looked over the overgrown statue and the writing under it with a critical eye, the florescent moss of the cave giving him plenty of light to work with.**

"Wow… almost a million years into the future and the first thing they show is an old man. What a letdown." Kiba said dryly with Akamaru woofing in agreement.

"And what were you expecting exactly?" Choji asked curiously, only to not get an answer. "What I'm wondering is, if what that plaque says is true, then how hasn't Naruto been freed yet? Surely someone with a good heart had to have found him by now?"

"Not exactly," Liok said while pulling out a small chart from nowhere to show the big-boned boy. "The odds of someone as pure-hearted as Naruto being born are ridiculously low, roughly 100,000 to 1. And even if someone like that was born, you'd have to account for the likelihood of which they'd actually find or know about Naruto's statue."

"In layman's terms, it would be an absolute miracle if Naruto was ever unsealed." Drako cut in. "Now stop gabbing and get back to the story."

" **You shouldn't have a problem reading it then Ruel. Nothing's more arsenic then you are." An orange-haired teen said with a laugh as he flipped a small sword with an eyeball in his hand.**

"Oooh, I wonder what that does." Tenten murmured as she eyed the weapon curiously.

"I'm wondering if he said Arsenic on purpose or if he's really just an idiot." Tsunade said as she and a few others chuckled at the word mix-up.

" **Archaic you Iop brain," A blonde girl with pointed ears, sharp green eyes, and a bow strapped to her back said with a facepalm.**

"Holy Kami! Now that is a lady!" Jiraiya exclaimed with hearts in his eyes as he ogled the girl on screen until Tsunade gently bopped his head, causing the pervert to crumple back into his seat with a large welt.

" **That's what I said Eva."**

" **I wonder who carved this, the level of detail alone is astonishing." A girl with grass green hair, dark brown skin, and wearing clothing made of leaves said as she ran her fingers over the statue's cheek, gently brushing off some of the vegetation to reveal the whisker-like engravings. "It's almost like it's an actual person."**

"THE FUTURE IS INCREDIBLE!" The old man cheered, completely ignoring his sore head as he went back to staring at the two girls on screen, a notepad appearing in his hands as he started to jot down notes. Tsunade was about to bean him again, only this time with enough force to send him through the floor, when Drako motioned for her to stop.

"Just so you know, the blonde is 16 and the greenette is 13." The Madara rip-off said, before laughing heavily as the super pervert paled dramatically. At the same time, most of the women in the room gained varying amounts of jealously as they looked over the already well-developed figure of the younger girl.

"Oh come one, that's so not fair." A certain pinkette grumbled, her arms subconsciously crossing over her small bust.

"Life's not fair, though it did help that neither of them dieted while they grew up." Liok said, a slight malicious gleam in his eyes as he saw Sakura and Ino groan in regret.

"Hey, am I the only one who's wondering why the younger girl has grass for hair?" Kushina asked curiously.

"That'll actually be explained soon, but for now I'll just say that its normal where she comes from." Liok said, getting a small nod from the redhead.

 **Well Amalia, given some of the weird, bizarre, and just outright strange stuff I've seen myself and we've seen in the last few weeks, it wouldn't be all that unlikely when you think about it." Ruel said, making the greenette pause for a moment before quickly retracting her hand with a creep out look on her face.**

" **It's still pretty cool looking," A young boy wearing a large blue hat that reached down to the back of rear said from behind the statue while a small yellow bird floating next to his head nodded in agreement. "And it'll look even better once we get it all cleaned up."**

"Daaaaw, he looks just adorable." Ino said while gushing over the boy's appearance.

"I know, especially with that hat of his." Kushina agreed, already imagining what Naruto would look like if he wore a hat like that.

" **Eh, might as well, we are kinda stuck in here until the storm passes." Eva said while gesturing to the mouth of the cave where rain could be seen falling in heavy sheets. "Would give us something to do to pass the time, and it's not like Oma Island is going anywhere."**

"That girl sounds like someone who is very dedicated to their job." Minato said, the girl acting similar to several people he'd worked with and had work for him.

"She certainly seems like someone I'd like to have as a kunoichi under my command." Tsunade said with an approving nod.

 **Ugh, well you and Yugo can have fun doing that, this princess is going to get some beauty rest thank you very much." Amalia said as she planted her hands floor of the cave, a green glow emitting from them into the earth as a large flower full of a cotton-like substance emerged that she promptly flopped onto.**

"What the hell!?" Both groups shouted in shock.

"That girl can use Mokuton?" Jiraiya asked, his jaw dropping loose below him.

"…No, that wasn't Mokuton." Tsunade stated, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the image on the screen intently. "I've seen used before by my grandfather, and he'd only ever produced wood or trees with it. That girl made a plant instead."

"Very astute of you Tsunade-san, and you are correct." Liok said with a praising smile. "That was indeed not Mokuton, but it is very similar to your family's famous bloodline."

 **And us two are going to go get something to make a fire so we can get some grub going, right Percedal?" Ruel said while wrapping his arm around the orange-haired boy's shoulders.**

" **Hmm, my stomach could use some food in it." Percedal agreed, drooling a bit while his stomach rumbled loudly.**

"Men." All the women stated dully, getting offended looks from their male companions.

 **Watching them walk into a deeper section of the cave with a blank look, Eva just sighed in exasperation before turning back to the statue to see that Yugo trying to peel off some of the vines. Giggling softly at the somewhat adorable sight, she reached into her hip pouch and pulled out a dagger she kept in case of emergencies and used it to carefully sever the small connecting tendrils holding them in place.**

"I do not know about you all, but I am liking this girl a lot already." Kurenai stated, glad to see another girl who took being a fighter seriously.

" **Thanks Eva," Yugo said while bundling up the rope-like plants and carelessly tossing it behind him where it ended up conking Amalia on the head. Shooting up with a small grunt, she rubbed the tender spot while preparing to tell the two off only to get cut off by a ball of moss that lodged itself in her mouth.**

"Hahahaha! Oh my Kami, talk about timing!" Kushina gasped out as she and the others broke out into a short bout of laughter at the plant girl's bad luck.

 **Wow, Amalia was right on the detail," Yugo said, neither him or Eva noticing said girl's muffled choking as she struggled to pull the lump out of her mouth. "They even carved out places where his clothes were torn up." He gestured to the spot he had just uncovered on the statues waist. Reaching down and dusting off some of remaining flecks, Yugo yelped in pain as he accidentally nicked his finger on the stone's sharp edge. A few drops of his blood dripping onto the area as he retracted his hand.**

 **"Careful there Yugo, wouldn't want you getting an… infection… is it just me or is the statue glowing?" Eva asked midsentence as she grabbed the hat wearing boy and quickly jumped back. Sure enough, the statue had gained a light blue hue to it.**

"So… that boy is the one with a pure heart. Should have figured." Neji said with a shrug, before groaning as Gai and Lee suddenly stood up.

"YOSH! Yugo-kun's flames of youth will be the ones to set our friend free!" Lee cried out as his eyes seemed to catch ablaze.

"And that proves that all we have to do is find someone like that to set Naruto-kun free ourselves!" Gai shouted.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei! -

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sen-MMPH!"

Just as the spandex wearing duo were about to rush over to each-other and give the other a manly hug that would activate the ever-dreaded Beach Sunset Genjutsu, bindings shot out from their respective seats and yoinked them back down before firmly tying them down.

"For the sake of what little mental health I have left, you will NOT try that again." Liok said with a strong glare that managed to cow the two enthusiastic ninja.

" **Nope, definitely not you." Yugo said as he held his hand up, a similar blue glow on them while Eva pulled out her bow and drew the string as an arrow made of yellow energy formed.**

"Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!" Tenten yelled as she tried to jump at the screen, only to be held down by the same bindings as her teammate and sensei.

" **Bleugh! Would it have killed you to help me?!" Amalia yelled out as she finally got the ball of moss free, only to blink in confusion at their lack of response before noticing their stances. Turning in the direction that they were facing, she blinked in shock at the glowing statue before jumping in surprise as once hidden symbols on the floor also started glowing. "What's going on?" She asked worriedly while pulling out a doll and holding it in a threatening manner.**

"Seriously? A doll? What's a doll supposed to do, cuddle something to death?" Kiba asked, barking out in laughter at his own joke.

"Says the boy who was beaten by a fart to the face." Drako quipped, causing Kiba to sputter indignantly and glare at the Madara look-a-like. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to take things at face value? Yes, the doll may not seem very intimidating right now, but trust me when I say that thing has a lot of surprises in store."

While this was happening, Kushina, Minato, and Jiraiya had their faces scrunched in concentration as they tried to memorize the seal that was appearing, having been too caught in shock to do so when it first appeared. Sadly, it was vain attempt as most of said seal was cut off by the angle of the image and what was in view was partially obscured by the natural growth and debris of the cavern itself.

" **Not sure," Eva and Yugo said at the same time, neither taking their eyes of the statue for a moment as they waited for any signs of hostility. Said signs came in the form of black metal bars shooting from the ground, forming a cage around the trio before they could react.**

 **Acting the fastest, Eva quickly shot several glowing arrows at the bars, only to blink in shock as they were completely absorbed without making a scratch. "Wha? That's im-AGH!" She yelled as one of the bars shot out of the ground and stabbed into her calf.**

"Yeesh, that's gotta hurt." Ino said with a wince of sympathy.

" **Eva!" "Evangeline!" Yugo and Amalia cried out, rushing to her side to help, only to come skidding to a halt when she looked towards them. "Eva?" Amalia asked in horror.**

 **Instead of seeing her normal vibrant emerald eyes, the leaf girl saw purple-ringed eyes with no visible sclera. Eva didn't respond to her call, seemingly caught in a trance until a blue ring of energy appeared next to her that Yugo popped out of and tackled her side, knocking her away from the metal bar with a sickening squelch.**

"Hmm, never seen or heard a kenkai genkai that can create portals before." Jiraiya muttered, not really surprised by the Rinnegan as he knew direct exposure to Nagato's chakra rods could do that. Turning to the pair that had had brought them there and asked. "Is it an evolved version of a current one we know of?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Liok said cryptically.

 **It did the trick though as the elf girl's eyes faded back to normal before she released a tired groan and brought a hand to her forehead. "Huh? What? Where… where am I?" She asked, her gaze drifting across the room hazily before settling on the boy sitting on her stomach.**

" **Are you okay Eva?" Yugo asked, concern clear in his voice as he climbed off and looked towards her leg where a small trickle of blood still flowed.**

" **Y-yeah, it's just a flesh wound." She stuttered out, still a bit dazed from what happened. Before either could speak further though, a shriek of pain made them snapped their heads towards Amalia who now had one of the metal rods digging into her bicep. A split second later her eyes had changed to those same purple rippled pattern as her arms went slack.**

"Okay, that's too much to be a coincidence. Those bars are intentionally going for non-vital hits." Kakashi stated with his eye narrowed.

"Yeah, it's almost like their… probing for lack of a better word." Shikamaru said, his normally lazy gaze sharpened as they analyzed the situation.

" **Amal-GAH!" Yugo had no time to react as another rod got impaled him right through the bottom of his foot.**

"Vital or not, that gonna smart a bit." Kushina said sympathetically.

" _ **Ah, aren't you just a little rascal."**_

" _ **Yugo! Come help your pa cook!"**_

" _ **Oh Ruel, up to your same old tricks I see."**_

 _ **"Thanks for saving me! My name is Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove a noble knight and guardian of the Shushu Rubilax."**_

 _ **"Poulters are attacking the Village!"**_

 _ **"DAD!"**_

 _ **"It's wonderful to meet you, I'm Amalia Sheran Sharm princess of the Sadida Kingdom and this is my bodyguard Evangeline."**_

" _ **Where is the dragon? Where is he!?**_

" _ **Stay away from my son!"**_

" _ **Your true family awaits you on Oma Island."**_

" _ **The Black Crow keeps driving everyone off, so trade has been practically destroyed."**_

" _ **Thank you for breaking the curse that ailed us, we are forever in your debt."**_

" _ **We can't just leave the Puddlies to fend for themselves, they need our help!"**_

"Uhh, what was that?" Sakura asked with a tilted head as a multitude of clips played across the screen quickly.

"The little brat's memories, uh duh." Drako said bluntly.

 **Yugo gasped in shocked as reality slammed back into him suddenly, before yelping in pain as he felt the rod in his foot suddenly retract. Stumbling backwards, he tripped over a stone in the ground and would have fallen to the ground if Eva hadn't caught him. Not far away, Amalia was leaning against the wall breathing heavily as she held a hand to her chest.**

" **What… What was that?" The boy asked, watching in confusion and suspicion as the black poles slowly disintegrated into dust.**

"Good, he's not letting his guard down." Kurenai said with an approving nod.

" **Not sure, but I have a strong feeling we're about to find out." Eva said, their gazes going back to the statue as it stopped glowing suddenly, revealing the now perfectly clean statue. A few seconds later, the dull grey stone slowly started to gain color starting with the area Yugo had cut himself. The torn-up shirt turned black, a ragged red cloak with black flames, the pants a bright orange. His skin became a moderate tanned color, hair a few shades darker blonde than Eva's, and finally vibrate cerulean eyes.**

"Aah, he looks just like you." Kushina said to Minato as they watched their son slowly be turned back to normal.

"Yeah, but he has your face." The former Hokage countered with a smile that his wife shared.

"Not to mention your personality." Tsunade added with a chuckle.

" **-op Nagato!" The teen yelled the instant the petrification had worn off, stumbling forwards a few steps and blinking in surprise as he looked around the cave. "The hell? Where am I?" He asked aloud before suddenly collapsing to his knees as he started to sweat rapidly. "And why am… I so… tired…" *Thump***

…

…

" **Hey guys, we're back." Percedal called out as he and Ruel showed up with armloads of dried up vines and roots. However, upon seeing the sight of their friends nursing their injuries, the missing statue, and the unconscious blonde lying on the ground, he felt it prudent to ask the most important question he could think of. "You guys had a fight? Without inviting me?!"**

 **"…Iop brain."**

 **-End Chapter-**

"Alright everyone, take five and relax for a bit until the next chapter." Liok said while clapping his hands, causing the book to vanish from Kushina's grasp.

-End Chapter-


	2. Chapter 2

Reading: Wakfu: Chronicles of the Lost Ninja (English Translation)

"Alright, I think that's a long enough break." Liok said, getting everyone to go back to their seats.

"Whoever wants to read next better catch." Drako drawled out while carelessly tossing the book into the air.

"I'll do it!" Declared the self-proclaimed super-pervert as he caught it.

Episode 2

 **When Naruto awoke, it was to the feeling of being the sorest he had ever been in his life. Blinking the bleariness from his eyes, he found himself still inside that weird cave he had found himself in earlier, only now he was laying on what looked and felt like a pile of cotton and a slightly ragged blanket covered him from the chest down. Not seeing anyone from his current position but hearing undistinguishable chatter, Naruto to sit up only to wince as almost every single joint in his body popped at the exact same time with a series of loud cracks before falling back down with a grunt.**

"Well, that's what happens when you don't move your body for long periods of time." Tsunade, in medical mode, explained to rest of the group of people.

"Ooh, that's really gotta hurt!" Chouji said to the group, who were all in agreement. That did not look pleasant.

' **Kuso! Not a smart idea, not a smart idea at all!' He thought with a grimace, his muscles seizing up erratically. Thankfully, before he could end up hurting himself, an elf-looking girl and an old man popped into view and held him in place until the spasming settled down. When it did, he took in a few gasping breaths before coughing like crazy as the air irritated his suddenly dry throat.**

"It's not a pretty picture, as you can plainly see." The Slug Sannin said.

"How long does it take to pass, Tsunade?" Kushina asked, worried about her son's wellbeing.

"Well, if it were a normal person or any other ninja it would probably take months, maybe even a few years, considering they were petrified by who knows how long. But if it's the brat we're talking about, with his bullshit healing, you just have to give him a day or two." Tsunade replied to the blonde's mother to try to calm her down.

" **Easy there lad, de-petrification sickness is quite the nasty experience from what I've been told. Amalia hurry up with that water! The boy's probably more parched than a desert right now." The old man called out behind himself.**

"Is petrifaction really that bad?" Lee asked.

"If what the old man said is true, it is a very bad experience" Shikamaru droned in response.

" **Calm down you old coot, I got it already." A green-haired girl said as she appeared at his side, a makeshift bandage covering her upper arm, a large cup-shaped leaf in her hands, and an annoyed expression on her face. Kneeling at Naruto's side, she lined the leaf up with his lips and slowly started to pour. "You better be grateful, it's not every day you get hand served by royalty you know." She said in joking haughty tone as Naruto happily consumed the refreshing liquid.**

"Well, the girl certainly has a prideful streak, but she does have a point; that's probably the first time Naruto's been treated by a princess" Kurenai commented.

"Ohoho! I wouldn't say that!" Kakashi chuckled, remembering all the times the blond had been treated or interacted with royalty. "If I remember correctly, there was Koyuki and Shion. Kami only knows how many he met while I wasn't around."

"Are you serious?" cried a dismayed Kushina.

"I can attest to that" Sakura spoke up, also remembering those moments.

"…and I still don't have grandchildren yet?!" Kushina yelled furiously and incredulously, drawing skewed looks from the younger generation.

"A-a-ano, N-Na-Naruto-kun is too young to have children Kushina-sama." Hinata stated shyly.

"That's no excuse, I want grandbabies now dammit!" The habanero screamed with a petulant pout.

"Mah mah, calm down dear. I'm sure he had a good reason." Minato tried to calm his wife, knowing how she could be sometimes.

"You see for our time, in times of war, it was normal for couples at the age of 15 to have one or two children." Jiraiya explained upon seeing the confused looks of the rookie eleven.

"Yep, we had Naruto when I was 22 years old, the best ten months of my life." Kushina sighed dreamily, oblivious to Minato's horror-filled face as he recalled the cravings and mood swings of his wife. Without a doubt, those had been the worst months of his life. Drako and Liok could only send a military salute with tears in their eyes and with a banner on their back saying… "You are the male of all males".

"But leaving that aside, I tried several times to get that kid laid with no results! I even started to wonder if he batted for the other team." The white-haired pervert declared, not noticing the deadly fist of the redhead Uzumaki descending on his head until it was too late.

"You will not corrupt my beautiful baby!" Cried a furious Kushina, conveniently contradicting what was previously said. That was when all the young people and teachers knew for certain that this was the mother of the whiskered Uzumaki.

 ***Gulp, gulp* "Haa… haa… thank you," He said hoarsely with a weak smile, relief rushing through him as the water seemed to sooth the aches and soreness a bit. A smile that quickly vanished however as the greenette was shoved out of the way by the elf-girl who got right up in his face.**

"Well, without a doubt, she gets down to business fast" Kurenai said.

" **Good, you can talk. Now how about you start answering some questions?" She demanded, her voice and expression completely serious as she looked him dead in the eye with suspicion. "Starting with who you are and why you were imprisoned within that statue."**

"Serious and dedicated, just like all kunoichi's should be. Unfortunately, all we tend to get are fangirls that give a bad name to the real dedicated workers!" Kushina commented, earning agreements from all the other women in the group except Ino, Sakura and Hinata, who only looked to the ground in shame. The first two for obvious reasons and the third because she was very shy, which could be the end of her in a mission.

 **Not seeing any reason to lie, Naruto slowly nodded his head before speaking. "My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto… I'm a shinobi of… Konohagakure no Sato." He said slowly with the occasional cough cutting in. "I was fighting a man… a member of the Akatsuki who… who attacked my village. He… he sealed me in the statue… I don't know why." And it was the truth, last he had checked Nagato had wanted a certain giant fluffy ball of malice he contained, not to turn him into a lawn ornament.**

"Even now, when it's not even inside me anymore, that oversized hairball is still causing problems." Kushina groaned.

"Well, there's always someone who's not happy with the world." Shikamaru drawled.

 **Her gaze narrowing, the elf-girl opened her mouth to ask something else, but was cut off when the greenette dragged her away with a pointed looked, followed by the old man and a kid with a large blue hat. "Dally, keep an eye on him in case he tries anything." He heard one of them say out of sight.**

"I'd say she's not careless, but considering she left an idiot on watch…" Kakashi trailed off.

" **No problem Ruel, he won't get past me." An unknown male voice said before an orange hair guy holding a small dagger-like sword with an eye walked into view with a cocky smirk.**

 **"Yeah, cause dealing with a sickly blonde brat will be sooooo hard." A deep sarcastic voice said from the sword as the eye flickered from Naruto. "I'm shaking in my prison just thinking about it."**

 **"Oh shut it Rubilax, no one asked for your opinion!" The assumed to be Dally yelled at the sword before plopping down just at the edge of Naruto's vision where he proceeded to get in an argument with his sword when it insulted him again.**

"EEEEEEE! The sword speaks!" Ten-ten screamed, excited by the new information.

 **'Oh great, another freaky sword. And to make it better this one can even talk.' Naruto thought with a mental groan, thinking back to all the other unusual weapons he had to deal with such as Samehada and the Kusanagi before shaking his head.**

"In his defense, I saw how his first encounter with Samehada went down, so his hatred and aversion to it is pretty well justified" commented Jiraiya.

' **Ugh, not the time for reminiscing, I need to find out if Konoha is alright.' He berated himself. 'Now think, you're extremely exhausted for some reason and need to recover fast. Hm, can't get the Kyuubi's help as he's probably still pretty pissed earlier.' Naruto thought with a frown before mentally slapping himself. 'Duh, senjutsu! The natural energy should speed up my recover a lot.'"**

"Of course, Naruto's senjutsu also works as a radar and way of healing himself!" Ino said in excitement, but then she saw the dark faces of the adults and the expressionless face of Shikamaru. "What, isn't that a good thing?" she asked in confusion.

"Normally it would be, but now? No, it isn't. When Naruto realizes that there is no Konoha anymore, how do you think he's gonna react?" asked Kakashi, the realization reached the group of young people, Naruto is a very lively person who values life very much but who finds out that he no longer there are elementary nations, no longer Konoha, there are no friends anymore.

 **With his plan of action decided, Naruto took a long deep breath while closing his eyes. A second later, his entire body went deathly still, with even his breathing seeming to halt as he slipped into a meditative trance and began to draw a minute amount of natural energy into his body.**

"That's what Naruto does to use nature energy? Pssh, that's so easy, even I could do it!" Kiba commented with arrogance, only to be quieted to hear the laughter of the two beings that brought them here.

"Hahahahahahahaha! What a good joke! Jajajajajajajajaja! I-I-I can't breathe! My stomach hurts!" Cried a guffawing Liok, followed by Drako who fell to the floor laughing so hard, he was unable to speak.

Their laughter quickly got on Kiba's nerves, and with a visible vein pulsing on his forehead he yelled, "What's so funny!"

"You! You say you'd be able to do it but I'm telling you now, Naruto has full control over Senjutsu while Jiraiya still needs help from the toad elders to be able to use it, and even then, he can't use its full power! So, the fact you think that you of all people could use it easily?! Laughable!" said Drako, a nice big condescending smirk plastered on his face.

"While the news of Naruto being able to control the Senjutsu perfectly is incredible, it is true; using Senjutsu could kill you if you aren't careful" Jiraiya warned, corroborating what the young people said.

"I have a hard time using it myself, or rather I can only use it for a few seconds. If I try to stretch it out, it could turn me to stone and kill me." Minato said with total seriousness, wondering how Naruto managed to master a technique of that level so easily without dying.

-With the others-

 **"What is wrong with you Eva?" Amalia demanded after dragging Eva to another part of the cavern, Ruel and Yugo standing behind her. "Can't you see he's exhausted? He needs to be resting not dealing with you interrogating him."**

 **"I'm just being cautious Amalia. We have no idea who this guy really is or if he's actually telling the truth. For all we know, he's a homicidal maniac who was turned into a statue as a punishment." Eva retorted with a huff as Amalia cringed at the thought. "And so far everything he has told us sounds like a load of dragoturkey dung. I for one have never heard of a place called Konohagakure or of this Akatsuki before, have you?"**

"Well, if we take into account that young Naruto would never hurt a fly in bad faith, and was sealed away for who knows how long, I would disagree with what she said." commented Gai, followed by several nods from his fellow jounin.

" **If I may cut in," Ruel said as he got in between the two girls with his arms held up in a placating manner. "While I have never heard of them in such phrasing, I do recognize the words themselves. They're ancient tongue." He said, earning intrigued and confused looks from the trio.**

"Well, now we know that our language, or at least certain parts of it are considered very old, but that suggests that there may still be people who know about the elemental nations." said Minato, paying attention to what was mentioned by Ruel.

"Possibly, but that doesn't reassure me much." Tsunade said.

" **You mean like the writing where his statue was?" Yugo asked, getting a nod.**

 **"The very same Yugo, which is odd since it has been a dead, almost extinct language for as long as anyone can remember. Some say it even predates the gods themselves." Ruel explained "So that fact this youngster not only knows it but speaks it so naturally is quite odd, especially since he doesn't seem like the… scholarly type to me. He could be a descendent of one of the old tribes, which would explain why his name is also in ancient tongue. Or maybe he's a treasure hunter, which must mean he has a lot of Kam-"**

"Dead? Dead language?" Sakura muttered. She knew what that meant.

"Then it's just what I feared." said Kakashi. "Naruto's woken up in a world where the elemental nations don't exist anymore.

Most of those in attendance adopted looks of grief and sympathy, the only exceptions being Shino, who's expression couldn't be seen beneath his clothes. Neji, who remained stoic as ever, though there was a hint of remorse. Finally, Shikamaru looked more morbidly curious if anything.

"Putting how troublesome this is aside, anyone notice how the old man said that our language is prior to the "gods", implying that they actually exist." He commented.

"I don't know about these gods of theirs, but if I can tell you for certain that the Shinigami is very real. After all, I had to give up my soul to be able to seal the Kyuubi away." said Minato, the memory of that day running through his mind clear as day.

"Well, before you break your brains thinking about it, when Ruel talked about the deities, he was referring to the 12 gods that "govern" their world." Drako explained.

"There's a different god for each of the twelve races; a god for the Iop, a goddess for the Sadidas and so on and so on." Liok added.

"I say if we want to know more about what's happening and these so-called "gods", Jiraiya should get back to reading!" The busty blonde hokage snapped, growing irritated. Jiraiya took the hint and continued.

" **So what DID he say?" Eva asked pointedly, cutting Ruel off as he was about to go into a rant about money.**

 **"Eh-hem, well I'm a little rusty but I believe he said that his name is either Whirlpool Maelstrom or Whirlpool Fishcake, depends on the context really, and that he is a ninja of a Village hidden by Tree Leaves." The shovel-wielding man stated, earning himself a bunch of odd looks. "As for Akatsuki, it means either dawn or daybreak, again depending on the context."**

"'Whirlpool Maelstrom' actually!" Kushina chirped happily when she remembered the meaning of her son's name, who reminded her so much of herself in attitude.

"Personally, I don't know if I should regret every time I called him Fishcake." Kiba foolishly pondered out loud, and only two seconds later he was sent to the floor by a strong blow from the redhead mother, who had a downright murderous look on her face.

Liok and Drako only raised posters with the number 10 on them.

"For your own sake, you'd BEST regret it!" Kushina snarled as a shadow began to cover her face, her hair rising up and swaying in the air like the nine tails of a certain giant fox. Drako, Liok, Minato, Jiraiya and Kakashi were huddled together in the corner with numerous Talismans and crosses, praying that they did not become collateral damage. The others were either confused or were smirking at the soon-to-be dead dog boy.

Tsunade, being the least affected, snatched the book from Jiraiya and started reading, all the while listening to Kiba's screams of pain and agony.

 **"…That makes even less sense then when we didn't know what he was saying at all." Eva said bluntly.**

 **"Probably cause the lad's still delirious from de-petrification sickness. An old friend of mine had it once after flirting with a Huppermage's girlfriend, poor fellow thought he was a gobball for three days before coming to his senses." Ruel said with a somber chuckle. 'I wonder how old Toot is doing these days. Probably still playing Gobbowl with the old gang I bet.' "I doubt anything you get out of him will be of any form of coherent until he recovers."**

 **"See, I told you." Amalia said with a victorious smirk as she turned back to Eva. "Now let's just let him rest for a bit. Once he's all better you can interrogate him all you-" The leafy girl suddenly stopped midsentence, her head snapping back towards where their 'guest' and Dally was while a large shiver ran through her. "Do you feel that?"**

"Huh, what's this now?" Tsunade said, rereading that last part.

"Just keep reading, you'll see soon enough." Liok said from his place in the corner.

" **What? Is something wrong?" Eva asked worriedly while reaching for her bow, Ruel holding his shovel threateningly, while Yugo's palms gained a soft blue glow.**

 **Instead of answering verbally, Amalia started walking back the way they had come from in an apparent daze. Stumbling past Dally, who was still arguing with Rubilax and hadn't noticed her at all, she soon stood above Naruto with a look of awe on her face. "He's so… so peaceful, so welcoming." She muttered while attempting to get closer only to get held back by Ruel and Yugo.**

"Wait, what? Ok, could someone please explain what's happening to that troublesome princess." Shikamaru asked, ignoring the practical torture of his fellow shinobi.

"You heard Liok, just keep reading dammit!" Drako snapped back.

 **While they were busy doing that, Eva took a look at Naruto with narrowed eyes as she spotted an odd orange coloration forming around his eyes. Drawing her bow, she pulled back the string as a yellow energy arrow formed and she held the tip right up to his throat. "Stop whatever it is you are doing to the princess right now or else you're going to have a new hole to breathe through." She said coldly, pressing the tip against his neck only to stare in shock when it couldn't pierce his skin.**

"Hey! What the hell are you trying to do to my son, dattebane!" Kushina yelled furiously at the screen, a battered and traumatized Kiba lying at her feet.

"Hey, relax Kushina! Being in sage mode causes the user's skin to become extra resistant to damage, so something like that wouldn't affect him in the slightest!" Jiraiya belted out quickly, knowing from experience what the elder Uzumaki's temper could be like.

"That's still my boy she's trying to hurt!" shouted the mentioned redhead.

 **She was then greeted with the sight of yellow eyes with rectangular pupils as Naruto's eyes snapped open and locked with hers. Faster than the elf-girl could blink, Naruto had gotten within her guard and knocked her an inch the wall with a palm strike to her abdomen. It was only thanks to Naruto's weakened condition AND him holding back a lot that she wasn't a bloody smear.**

Chouji gave an impressed whistle. "Damn! even when he's exhausted, Naruto's pretty strong in that state." He said. only to receive a nod from the white-haired Sannin.

 **Speaking of which, Naruto had slowly gotten up on his feet with his legs wobbling badly, his breathing heavy, and sweat already pouring from his brow when he was suddenly bowled over by Amalia after she managed to escape from her friends' grasp thanks to the distraction. Expecting an attack, the blonde prepared to strike her away as well only to be understandable baffled when the girl suddenly wrapped her arms around his chest and started nuzzling her head against his chest with a content sigh.**

There were several reactions to this scene; Kakashi, Kiba and Chouji were green with envy, Kurenai and the girls were a little shocked and slightly bemused, Hinata was bright red (though with anger, envy or embarrassment couldn't be determined), and Gai and Lee started screaming about the attractive power of Naruto's youth (They were promptly silenced by Liok).

Kushina stared at the screen with a look that was both full of hope and full of malice, Minato wasn't sure whether to be happy for his son or worried. Jiraiya giggled perversely, whipped out his notebook and started scribbling away so fast that smoke rose from the paper itself. Two seconds later, his head was smashed into the ground with a smoking bruise, courtesy of Tsunade's fist.

" **Uhhhhh, what are you doing?" He asked in confusion while prying the girl off of himself with his senjutsu enhanced strength.**

 **"So warm, so cozy, so amazing." Was Amalia's response as she struggled to get out of his grasp until he 'gently' tossed her across the room where she collided with Eva and Dally, who had just finished freeing the girl from the wall**

"Classic Naruto, attracting the female gender since time immemorial" said Drako with laughter in his words.

" **Okay, I take back what I said earlier. This guy packs a wallop." Rubilax's muffled voice said out from the pile of bodies covering him.**

 **Struggling back to his feet, Naruto turned to the two remaining standing people in the cave, the old man and the hat kid. Seeing their guarded stances but sensing no real hostility from them, he slowly raised his hands up in surrender while his eyes slowly turned back to normal. "Easy, I don't want to fight."**

 **"You could have fooled me," Ruel said, glancing at his down companions while pointing his shovel at the whiskered teens throat.**

 **"I was only defending myself against Surudoi and Happa over there." Naruto said, slowly sitting down as his legs started to give out under him. "They were the ones to jump me out of the blue like that."**

"…only Naruto would name a princess and a woman capable of killing him something like that, without any hesitation whatsoever" Tsunade groaned as she rubbed her forehead for a second, then she extended her hand and a bottle of sake appeared in it.

" **Only because you did something to Amalia." Yuga said while pointing his glowing hands at him.**

 **"I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't do anything to this Amalia person you keep talking about." As soon as Naruto finished speaking, an arrow made of ice struck his side and caused his body to rapidly freeze over until only his head was left exposed.**

"Ice arrows! I want some! GIMME, GIMME GIMME!" An excited Ten-ten screamed once again, looking about ready to leap up in excitement. Two seconds later, the ribbons reemerged from the seat and tied her in place once more.

"I'm starting to think ALL of team 9's members are weirdo's." Drako whispered to Liok, who gave an unsure shrug.

" **Then you won't mind chilling for a bit and explaining that odd eye trick of yours then, would you?" Eva asked rhetorically while dusting herself off, a small trickle of blood oozing from her lip as she glared at the imprisoned blonde.**

 **"Whatever you say Surudoi-san, not like I have much choice in the manner." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. Despite how he was acting, he was still exhausted as hell and even if the ice wasn't encasing him he doubted he'd make it more than five feet before collapsing again.**

 **"What did you just call me?" Eva asked with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"Uh Surudoi-san duh. I have to call you something since you haven't given me your name yet."**

 **"That's not what I… ugh Ruel what did he call me?" The elf-girl asked with a sigh as she rubbed her forehead.**

 **"Ms. Sharp, it's actually quite fitting if I do say so myself." The old man said with a chuckle while Dally and Amalia finally got back on their feet.**

"I support the old man's notion." A slightly amused Shikamaru droned. Some of the others laughed at that.

 **Rolling her eyes, Eva stumbled over to where Naruto was imprisoned and crouched down till they were eye level, keeping another ice arrow trained on him the entire time. "Well then… whiskers," A grin spread across her lips when she saw Naruto's lip twitch slightly in annoyance. "Start talking."**

"Uh Oooh! Lesson one: don't provoke the beast." Drako chuckled.

"Will you stop that, this is supposed to be them reacting, not us you moron." Liok whisper-yelled while whacking the Madara-look-a-like across the head, getting a flipped bird in response.

" **Hai Hai, calm down would you, no need to be so harsh Surudoi-san. The Gama eyes were just a side-effect of Sennin Modo, I was using it to boost my recovery some. I have no idea why it affected your friend like it did…uh we are talking about Happa-san over there right?" Naruto asked while tilting his head towards Amalia as she and Dally finally started to get up. Unfortunately, as the greenette was getting up she tried to use the wall Eva had crashed into for support only for it to end up falling apart into rubble that tumbled all over the orange-haired boy, much to his sword's amusement.**

"Should I feel sorry for the poor boy?" Kushina asked herself, tapping her lips with her finger thoughtfully. "... Naaaah."

"What I'm curious about though, is why that Amalia girl reacted like that to Naruto's senjutsu." She continued, paying close attention to the screen.

"Well, it's simple enough, but it would be better if you see for yourself." Liok said to the group.

" **Yeah, that would be Amalia," Eva said in dull tone as she watched the girl apologize before turning her attention back to the iced blonde. "So what exactly is this Sennin Modo?"**

 **"It's a technique I learned from my summons, the Gama clan. I use it by connecting to nature and drawing in natural energy to create senjutsu chakra." Naruto explained, getting Eva's eyes to widen before she facepalmed.**

 **"…That would definitely explain Amalia's reaction," Ruel said while Eva nodded.**

 **"Yeah, Sadidans are very in tune with nature, so someone tampering with it would definitely make them act strangely. Especially in Amalia's case given she's a Sadida princess." She said while slowly lowering her weapon. "Speaking of which, how are you doing over there princess?"**

"In simpler words, senjutsu acts like a stimulant, sexual or not depends, that affects her and her people, but more the former in her case." explained Drako.

Jiraiya thought about it carefully. "Well, that would make sense. If these Sadidas are so connected to nature, then it only seems natural for them to be affected like that."

"That's a bit worrying." Kurenai said, looking a tad wary. "If senjutsu stimulates them so much that they get aroused by it, imagine what would to them if someone with dark intensions used it!"

"An understandable worry Kurenai, but the risk of that happening is rather small. Senjutsu is one of the most dangerous arts you can learn, with most of those attempting it ending up dead." Minato said, getting the genjutsu mistress to calm down.

"But, wasn't Naruto able to figure it out in a month?" Neji asked, joining the conversation for the first time in a while.

"That's just how the brat is." Rebuked Tsunade, rolling her eyes with a humored smile. "Hey Minato, how long did it take you to figure out the Rasengan?"

Minato blinked at the sudden question. "What? Uh, three years give or take."

"And it took me months to figure it out myself." Jiraiya piped up, catching Tsunade's drift. "Naruto on the other hand, managed to get it all down in less than a week!"

" **If any of you ever talk about what just happened again I'll have you thrown in the royal dungeons until you're Ruel's age!" Amalia yelled with a massive blush on her face as she refused to look at Naruto directly.**

The massive smile growing on Kushina's face was starting to look more and more like the smile of a certain cat from a certain wonderland, very disturbing if you ask this humble servant.

"How old is Ruel anyway?" asked a puzzled Ino.

"Very old." Drako replied.

"Ruel is an Enutrof, their race ages either slowly or quickly depending on the circumstances. In some cases when they reach their 60s, they maintain the strength and vitality they had at 30 and can even improve a little more. The only problem with them is their greed, which can sometimes be equal or superior to Jiraiya's perversion; they go absolutely nuts over just a single gold coin." Liok explained to the group.

"Sounds almost like the Uzumaki's." said Kushina, referencing to the longevity of the Enutrofs.

" **I'll take that as 'I'm okay.'" Eva said with another sigh before sitting down and reluctantly allowing her ice spell to end. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, but know I'll be keeping an eye on you Whiskers."**

 **"Whatever you say Surudoi-san," Naruto said while brushing some of the melting ice off his shoulder.**

 **"Now that we've all calmed down, perhaps we can talk a bit more civilly," Ruel said while taking a seat himself, chuckling again when he heard two loud growling noises coming from the pair of blondes as they grabbed their stomachs at the same time. "And preferably over a good meal by the sounds of it."**

"Oh boy, Kami help them if Naruto is as tired and hungry as he says he is." said a depressed Kakashi. He remembers the times that he'd invited his students to lunch after a day of practice. That child must have a black hole in his stomach or something.

"I'm with you there Kakashi." Said and equally depressed Jiraiya, because he had suffered from the same pain as Kakashi when he took his student on their training trip.

" **Yeah, something to eat would be absolutely delightful right now." Amalia said while plopping down next to Eva, her face still red as she stared at the cave floor.**

 **"Uh, guys," Yugo said, getting everyone's attention. "Shouldn't we help Dally first?" He asked while pointing to the still buried orange-aired boy.**

"Is he even still alive?" Kiba asked. The others just shrugged their shoulders, unsure themselves.

" **Don.. worra abo.. meh, thish is no…ing, I'll …e out of he.. …o …ime." Dally's muffled voice called out as one of his free hands made a thumbs-up sign.**

"There's your answer Kiba." Shino said in his usual monotone.

" **You heard the Iop, he's fine, now let's get some grub going finally." Ruel said while making a simple firepit that he lit by making sparks with his shovel. Then reaching into the bag hanging from one side, he pulled out a variety of fruits, vegetables, and fish that he was about to start frying up when Naruto asked a simple but very powerful question.**

 **"What's a Iop?"**

 **\- End Chapter -**

"Well, I think that's all we'll see for now." said Liok

"Go take a break, grab something to eat and we'll be back later." Drako instructed to the group, who promptly started 'ordering' food while they began to discuss what just seen.

-End Chapter-

AN: Thanks to Anonymous Ideas for translating this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

This time the boys were faster but failed to claim the book, leaving Sakura to be the chosen reader.

-Chapter 3-

-Last time-

"… **You're kidding right?" Eva asked with a dull look before blinking in surprise as Naruto shook his head and kept looking at her in confusion. "You seriously don't know what a Iop is?"**

 **"Not a clue." Naruto said as everyone stared at him in shock, even Dally once he managed to get his head free of the rubble. "Why? Is it something I should?"**

"When you take into account that there are 12 different races walking about the earth now, not knowing about one of them does raise a few eyebrows." Said the always serious Shino, the rest of the group agreeing with his comment.

 **"Well duh! They're like an entire freaking race of the World of Twelve! What next, you going to say you don't know what a Sadidan or a Cra is?" Amalia asked rhetorically.**

 **"Nani? A what now?" Naruto asked, getting the greenette to drop her jaw.**

 **"…"**

 **"…"**

 **"How long were you in that statue?" Ruel wondered aloud, getting a shrug from the whiskered blonde.**

"Long enough to probably be your great-great-great-grandfather!" Kushina joked with a giggle, her husband sweat-dropping a little from the 'eloquent' comment, but nevertheless giving an exasperated smile at his dear wife.

" **I don't know, a week or so probably since I'm so tired I'd guess. One moment I was being turned to stone, the next I was here feeling like I just got finished racing Gekimayu-sensei around Konoha again with boulders on my back… again." Naruto shivered slightly as he remembered being tricked by Kakashi to take that challenge for him. He had won by a hair, but his back, legs, and feet had been aching like hell for two days afterwards.**

"Ah, those were good times." A nostalgic Kakashi sighed, happily remembering all the events that took place all those years ago. Sakura on the hand paled a little. Kakashi may be a lazy bastard most of the time, but he was one hell of a slave driver when it came to training.

 **Ruel didn't even bat an eye at the odd name, figuring it was just a nickname like how he called Eva Surudoi-san. Instead, he sighed as a very likely theory popped into his head. "I was afraid you'd say that. Yugo, looks like you're up for cooking tonight… seems we have a lot to explain to our new friend here."**

"A lot is a freaking understatement, considering they have to explain an entirely new time period to poor Naruto." said Ino seeing how things were going.

"Troublesome, but this could also benefit us." The resident Nara said, seeing the situation from another angle.

" **Got it, I think we still have all the ingredients for some gobbal stew," The youngest of the group said as Ruel moved out of his way and closer to Naruto.**

 **"Now, to start a Iop is…"**

 **-Three Hours Later-**

"…They didn't explain a damn thing." Sakura deadpanned while reading the temporary jump repeatedly, looking for Ruel's explanation.

"Just keep reading woman!" Drako, who was currently floating in the air above everyone's head, snapped irritably.

"… **And that's about it." Ruel said as he gulped down a mouthful of stew. He had just finished describing a few of the various races that inhabiting the World of Twelve such as the Iops, Cras, Osamodans, Enutrofs, Sadidans, and Pandarians. Amalia, Eva, and an unburied Dally helped by demonstrating a few of their own kinds unique traits, such as Eva's energy arrows and pointed ears of a Cra, Dally's unnatural strength and his lack of a nose of a Iop, and Amalia's partially plant-based biology and plant manipulation of a Sadidan which Naruto found the most intriguing.**

"Well, that was kinda useful, but barely any information either." said Jiraiya. As a spymaster and pervert ("SUPER-PERVERT!") he always stressed over getting all the juicy details. Any lack of information was an absolute insult.

"Well considering we'd be here forever if they were to explain everything (not to mention someone is just too lazy to write it down) …" an annoyed Liok snapped his fingers, the reaction was instantaneous all those present clutched their heads in pain. It felt as if he had given them a severe case of brain freeze.

"Oooh, what was that?" Sakura asked in a daze, looking around to see that she wasn't the only one who suffered that massive headache. Before anyone could respond to images, names and even characteristics of people/creatures in different ways came to her head.

"Oooh, I really don't wanna repeat that dattebane." a dazed and confused Kushina moaned "Wait… Oooh, so that's a Iop... I think they look a lot like certain people I know." she commented, whispering the last part while watching the green-clad duo of Konoha.

"Mental transference, a much easier and faster way to get information through good and proper. Btw, this is more or less what Naruto feels with the information feedback when his clones dispel." Liok explained to the crowd. All of them could only give a prayer to the blond to feel something of what that the blonde felt when he used his clones.

 **Speaking of which…**

 **"This is amazing, it's like Yamato-Sensei's Mokuton." Naruto muttered, his hand held out while Amalia made a small vine curl around it like a snake. However, after a few moments he pulled his hand away while his confused expression returned. "But still, what you're telling me is a little hard to believe Jiji. Me and Ero-sennin went all over the Yōso no Kuni during our training trip and I didn't see anything like what you've described."**

"I can confirm that. I saw a lot of strange things before, during and after the war. By the time I started getting old, I'd ventured into almost all of the most hidden and secret places in the world. But I have never seen anything like what we've just seen." said Jiraiya in total seriousness. That was very rare for those who barely knew him, but those who did could only agree with that.

 **This time, Ruel did show a reaction in the form of a raised eyebrow as he mentally translated what the whiskered teen said. '** _ **Perverted sage? I wonder why… no Ruel, not the time to get side-tracked**_ **.' The old man told himself with a shake of his head. "Yes, well that is the part you really aren't going to like. I'm pretty sure you were in that statue for longer than just a few weeks." He said making Naruto tilt his head while Eva's eyes widened in realization at where Ruel was going.**

Kushina didn't like where the conversation was going, holding tightly onto her husband's hand and hoping that her bad feeling didn't prove to be well-warranted. The scene was eerily similar to when the council had told her that Uzugakure was destroyed. Minato, who felt the squeeze, could only caress his wife's shoulder and offer her at least some comfort.

" **What, you mean like a year or two?" He asked as he suddenly started to feel uneasy for some reason.**

 **"No…" Ruel said with a sigh, "…I think you were petrified for a few thousand years." As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto froze up for a few seconds before laughing.**

"Yup, there's the denial." Tsunade said watching the reaction of Naruto to know the truth, or who was also paying attention, he agreed with his teacher that was always the first symptom in people who suffered a very serious shock, examples were sudden deaths of friends or family, wake up years after a coma among others.

" **Hahaha! Nice one Jiji, you almost had me with that." Naruto chuckled, a wide grin on his lips that slowly died down as he noticed the completely serious expression on Ruel's face. "You're kidding, aren't you? This is some kind of sick joke, isn't it? Well it isn't funny." Naruto stated angrily while trying to stand up again, only for his legs to give out again and cause him to tumble to the cave floor with a grunt.**

 **"Look kiddo, I get that this isn't exactly an easy thing to have dropped on you, but I swear on my purse that I am not making this up." Ruel said, getting everyone but Naruto's eyes to widen. To Ruel, money meant more to him than anything even his life at times, just like with most Enutrofs. "It's the only conclusion makes any sense since the only way you would be lacking such common knowledge that even a Iop would know would be that it didn't exist before you were petrified."**

"So that's how bad the situation is?" Asked Hinata, hoping that at least someone could calm the mood.

 **Or you guys are just another group of crazy Kekkei Genkai wielders. You guys are practically a ryo a dozen." Naruto said before closing his eyes and going unnaturally still, the reasoning for this becoming clear as a shiver went up Amalia's spine again while his eyes regained an orange hue around them. Eyes snapping open to reveal golden eyes with bar pupils, Naruto slowly stood up and limped off. "I'm done listening to your crazy tales, I'm going to… get back to my village and make… make sure everyone is… alright." Naruto huffed out, his breath already starting to become ragged from walking just ten feet while he leaned against the wall for support.**

"Damn gaki, always too damn stubborn for his own good." Tsunade commented sadly, watching as her surrogate grandson tried desperately to find the village, mentally pleading for him to stop so that the blow wouldn't be any harder than it already was.

 **Rounding a corner, his annoyance grew when he saw the heavy rainfall that was soaking everything in sight. His teeth groaning under the pressure of his jaw clenching and his eyebrow twitching, Naruto barely even registered his fingers sinking straight through the solid granite wall as his hands balled into fists.**

"You have to let it out son." Said Minato quietly, seeing how much piled up anger his son had.

The whole "new" generation of Konoha wanted to say something but no matter how much Naruto had helped them, they themselves did not know how to help. It was a dark and cruel truth that everyone had realized as much as they wanted to deny it. They were most definitely friends of Naruto and of course they knew things about him but only the basics; towards something other than pulling pranks and eating ramen they didn't know much about him, even Sakura (despite being the only one that was on his team for years) didn't know him beyond the sad team 7.

 **Knowing that there was no way he could make it through that mess in his current condition, he reluctantly turned around and limped back into the cavern. However, instead of stopping at the group, he went right past them and headed deeper into the cave. "Well… that went about as well as I expected." Ruel said before yelping in pain as Eva smacked the back of his head. "Hey!? What was that for?!"**

"Oh please, like you don't know!" Spat a spiteful Kurenai. Only an absolute idiot or a senile old fool wouldn't know the reason for that blow.

" **For being a complete idiot. You don't just drop something like that on a person." Eva said scathingly, sure she didn't trust the boy herself, but she wouldn't just up and tell him 'Hey guess what? Everyone you know and love are most likely dead and the world as you know it is completely different'.**

"Sure as heck doesn't sound like a nice way to wake up." Chouji said, shuddering at the thought of something like this happening to him.

 **Before she could chew Ruel out further though, the Cra was interrupted as Yugo's voice reached her ears. "Hey Amalia, are you alright? You're shaking." Hearing this, she snapped her head towards the pair and saw that the greenette was indeed shaking as she stared at the direction that Naruto had left.**

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that." Jiraiya chuckled. It absolutely tickled him to see the reaction of the Sadida to sage mode.

" **Y-yeah… I'm fine," Amalia muttered, struggling, and by the looks of it rapidly failing, to resist going after Naruto. "It's just… he feels so… so…" Just as she gave in and started to walk in his direction, the plant girl was roughly pulled off her feet and into Eva's lap and held firmly in place by the archer. "…thanks." She said even as she desperately tried to squirm away.**

"Something tells me that when someone or something so sensitive to nature chakra comes close to someone like Naruto, who usually exploits his techniques to the absolute maximum, it will be very difficult to resist." Drawled Shikamaru, remembering how many variations of the same technique the blonde could make.

"Ooh, you have no idea gaki." said Jiraiya with a laugh followed by Tsunade, along with all of the jounin of the village who were familiar with how the blonde fought.

" **No problem," Eva grunted as she struggled to hold Amalia in place.**

 **"Should one of us go talk to him?" Yugo asked as Az, his pet tofu bird, floated around his head chirping quietly in agreement.**

 **"Not right now Yugo, right now it would be best to let him simmer down for a bit." Ruel said, "He just got a lot dropped on him and needs some time to process."**

"What he needs is a way to release all that retained anger, or the consequences could be very… severe." said Kakashi watching everything closely.

" **Well he better hurry, or at least stop using that stupid Sennin Modo thing of his soon. This isn't exactly easy." Eva said after finally managing to get Amalia in a hold that prevented her from moving anything but her head.**

"How much strength does that girl have?" Asked Tsunade, slightly interested in the Cra.

"Enough to kick the ass of anyone who dares to think she's nothing but a pretty face." said Liok to the group. The funny thing is that he was wearing a mask that you use when you go to sleep. Drako was coming up from behind towards his face with a marker in hand, only for Liok to whip out a flyswatter and whipped it against the face of his associate, strong enough to knock him to the ground. The poor guy (unfortunately) broke the ground with the amount of force with which he collided with it.

"Don't start with me, you annoying animal!" said an annoyed Liok, everyone present sweat dropping a little at the scene.

 **-With Naruto-**

' _ **Their lying, it couldn't have been that long. It couldn't have**_ **.' The blonde thought as he stumbled through the naturally illuminated cave until he reached a nice secluded area with a soft moss-covered floor, ironically the area he had been petrified. Briefly glancing at the scorched remnants of the seals that had once been embedded into the ground, he stepped past them and towards the middle where the plaque still sat.**

"It's a little creepy if you think about." Ino shivered, seeing how it was the place of confinement of her fellow blond.

Sakura turned away from the book for a second to give her 'rival' a skewed look. "You think?" She asked sarcastically.

 **Sitting down in lotus position in front of it, he gazed down at the words carved into the stone, gently running his fingers over the stone with a look of contemplation. 'They can't be right. There is no way it's been that long. It's impossible.' He thought, not even caring as several small critters such as a glowing lizard and a small black ball of fluff with eyes and eight scraggly legs settled onto various parts of his body. '** _ **And I know just how to prove it**_ **.'**

"What strange creatures." Shino said in his usual monotonous tone, but if you looked closely you'd notice the intrigue and curiosity of the Aburame, particularly towards the eight-legged fluffball.

"Only you would be interested in those weirdass things." Kiba snarked to his teammate. Hinata could only give a nervous giggle at the peculiarities of her teammates.

 **Closing his eyes, Naruto put his hands into a ram hand-sign as his body gained an almost imperceptible blueish-green aura around it. Eyes closing, Naruto took in a single long deep breath before exhaling just as the aura pulsed outwards. Within his mind, Naruto's already impressive senses were boosted even further. Within seconds, he was picking up every living creature within a thirty-mile radius, right down to the smallest of ant-like creatures.**

"That's actually a pretty useful skill, I think it's a lot like or similar to what the sensor-nin are capable of." The Nara observed.

"It's an incredible experience no doubt about that, but at the same time it's terrifying." Jiraiya spoke up in a serious tone, gaining a look from all those present. Seeing the group's doubt, he decided to elaborate. "See to be one with nature, you feel life itself the terrifying comes later because as well as the you feel you can also see it disappear and believe me when I say it is a sensation ... uuuf ... I do not know how to put it into words… empty." The white-haired man said while Minato nodded in agreement, both having felt such a sensation.

"Frankly, I'm a little worried about what Naruto must've felt during Nagato's attack, because he saw the same number of countless lives lost from the fastest to the slowest." said Jiraiya gravely, remembering what he was told about that attack.

 **The sheer number of them was almost staggering, but Naruto was quickly able to sort through them by focusing for the specific signatures that beings of a human being gave off. Since this was definitely the place he had originally been sealed, he should have been able to easily pick up Konoha and its residents.**

… **but he didn't.**

"Naruto, please stop, before it gets any worse!" said a tearful Kushina who knew that his son was just throwing more salt to the wound.

' _ **Come on, where are they? They should be around here somewhere.**_ **' He thought, his brow furrowing in concentration as he desperately tried to find any sign of them or the crater that used to be Konoha. He scoured every inch of the surrounding area with his senses, only to come up with nothing. '** _ **Any second now, I'll find them at any moment and then I can go home, make sure everyone's alright then enjoy a nice bowl of ramen.'**_

All present could only bow their heads in sorrow. Even now the blond struggled only for just a small glimmer of hope that Konoha was still around only to find nothing, because the village he called home was completely erased in the sands of time.

 **Despite his attempts at optimism, Naruto couldn't stop the feeling of dread reforming back in his stomach as each second passed with no results. Soon, the pulse died down and his senses died back down to only to normal fifty yards around him. Not willing to give up that easily, he focused more power and released another wave.**

 **-Back with the Others-**

 **"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT IOP BRAIN DOING!?" Eva yelled as she, Yugo, Ruel, AND Dally all struggled to hold a practically rabid Amalia down as the barely noticeable wave of energy washed over them for a third time.**

"Huh, must be a lot of chakra being gathered if it's starting to become visible." Shikamaru said in a poor attempt to change the mood.

"The amount to of chakra you'd need to make it visible is huge in itself, but to give it off in waves is..." Tsunade trailed off with a low whistle, once again surprised by her godson's power.

" **How should we know?! Just focus on keeping Amalia do-OOF!" Ruel started to say only to get cut off as all four of them were flung off by large green vines covered in small thorns that suddenly emerged from the ground. Quickly scrambling to her feet, the greenette darted off after the source, with Eva, who recovered the fastest, chasing after her. Rounding a corner, the Cra reacted just fast enough to catch the plain looking doll that Amalia had tossed at her blindly.**

"A little word of advice kids: Never put yourself between a woman and her target." An amused Kushina chuckled as she recovered a little from her fit of tears.

" **EEEAAHAHA!" The doll screamed, throwing punches and kicks that Eva barely felt before she tossed it away and continued to pursue. Skidding around a corner, she made it just in time to see Amalia tackle Naruto's side and hug him tightly, startling off the various other critters that had perched on him.**

"… Okay, that doll is definitely not normal." Kiba said, only for the others to look him as if he were an idiot (Wasn't that obvious?).

"In the few chapters we have read since the beginning, it's been blatantly obvious that nothing in that world is normal." A deadpanned Sakura lectured the Inuzuka, who could only laugh sheepishly at that statement.

 **Seriously annoyed, she marched towards the duo with the intent of giving her fellow blonde a thorough tongue lashing. However, once she got close she noticed a key detail that caused her to stop.**

'… _ **He's crying,**_ **' Sure enough, tears were slowly streaming down Naruto's whiskered cheeks even as his face was set in a look of complete determination and his eyes darted around under his eyelids, apparently completely oblivious to the girl snuggling her head into the crook of his neck. As another pulse washed over her, Eva quickly figured out what he was doing and looked down at the boy with pity. '** _ **He's trying to find his home.'**_

For Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato and Kushina, it was almost too painful to watch as their son/godson cried for finding dead people a long time ago and it hurt more because for him they were only petrified weeks, but for the rest of the world it was millennia.

 **Standing there quietly, she was soon joined by Yugo as he hopped out of one of his portals, Dally who smacked Rubilax against the ground causing the small sword to grow and gain a swirling green pattern over it, and Ruel who held his shovel at the ready. They relaxed however when Eva waved them down and pointed to the two in the center of the room.**

 **Naruto continued his endeavor for almost an hour, with each pulse getting steadily weaker as his Sennin Modo took longer and became harder to charge up and maintain. Near the end it was so weak that Amalia finally managed to come back to her senses and quickly clambered off the blonde with a deep blush on her face.**

"Honestly, I think I would have gone crazy at this point." Neji admitted to the rest of the group.

"You're not the only one; we all would have collapsed from the sheer weight of it all in a matter of minutes." Shikamaru said. No matter how intelligent he was, he knew there was a fine difference between intelligence and strength. Naruto had a lot of strength in both mind and body, but he had just come out of a fight that was both physically and mentally exhausting, with a person who literally wiped Konoha off the map. Out of all the Konoha 12, Naruto was sometimes considered as the weakest but honestly, he was the strongest in so many ways that it wasn't even funny. If someone fell, Naruto would be there for them in an instant helping in their 100% even if you did not want their help from the beginning.

 **As the orange pigment faded away, his once again cerulean eyes slowly cracked open to reveal the despair within them as he cried full force. "…no… …no... this can't be true… please Kami no…" He muttered, his body sagging to the floor as reality hit him. Clenching his fists, he smashed one into the ground with enough force to spiderweb it with cracks. "…no… No… No, No, No! NOOOOO!" Naruto screamed, each word punctuated with a stronger punch than before, causing the ground to crater beneath him from the force.**

 **"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

 **\- Finish Chapter -**

"Well, that's all for now. -sigh- I know this one's been a little rough on everyone, so feel free to go take a break and recharge before we continue. I'm sure the next chapter will be a little better for everyone's mood." Said Liok, who was now holding a cup of coffee with a plate with what appeared to be a kind of circular dough stuffed with what seems to be an egg scrawl in his lap (that's called Arepa, the best thing in the world!). Drako appeared right behind him and tried to make a grab for the plate, only for Liok to grab him by the face launch him right into the big screen "You try that again and I will turn you into a woman in the painful way possible, CAPISCE?!" Liok declared, curiously sounding Italian.

The ninjas of Konoha left after seeing that action, the two sannin went along with the couple home to try to calm a tearful Kushina, while the rookie 12 went to talk to their respective teachers to clarify their doubts.

"Tch, stingy bastard." Drako growled to his counterpart, who was now eating without a care in the world.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Liok, I gotta ask. What's the matter with you today?" asked the 'bad' part of the writer duo.

"For your information, I'm absolutely fine! The fact that I'm writing this shows that I'm in perfect condition!" declared an inspired Liok. A ray of light appeared behind him, giving him a more heroic appearance. Drako only raised an eyebrow, before smiling with malice.

"The rookie and the veteran…" Not a second later Liok flinched, as if an ACME anvil had fallen on him.

"…I hate you." Liok said, seeing how his counterpart laughed malevolently.

"Well, let's get started already. I want to finish and go to sleep!" said the Madara look-a-like to his creator, who looked at him in confusion.

"But, it's only 1:44 am." he said, looking at his watch.

"Exactly genius!" Drako angrily screamed back. "We have catering at 10:30-oh you forgot." Draco transitioned seamlessly, seeing the paling horror-filled face of his "creator".

"Shit! I thought it was another day ... ah well save it for later, here come the people." He finished talking when he saw the ninjas were coming from different locations and could see Kushina was more relaxed, he could see so many versions of her where she was devastated by the death of her son that reached a point in which he wondered why she did not fall into madness (some fell but became stronger), only to realize that it was pure tenacity and hope.

Smiling a little, he left his chair in the direction of the redhead without noticing the look of understanding of his double. He stood in front of the Uzumaki matriarch, who looked up to see him and received a friendly hug along with the comfort.

"Don't worry, I assure you that your child is well." He spoke reassuringly and at the same time ignoring the pain he felt as Kushina returned the hug, trying to overcome their fear. Drako, who rested his head on his left fist could only say "You're such a marshmallow." However, if looked closely you could see a small smile on his face.

Separating himself from the redhead, he saw that she was completely calm again. He took her to his post, followed by the other occupants of the "adults" table. Returning to his post he was about to sit until he stopped before sitting down in his spot.

"I know what you're thinking Liok. I'm not against it, but do you even know where you're going to get it?" asked Drako, calling even more the attention of those present who did not know what was happening.

"Of course I do; from my or rather our multiverse, in this case universal "magic mirror" Liok proclaimed. Drako raised his eyebrows with surprise.

"I thought you were gonna leave that for later? You know, when things had quietened down a bit." Asked a confused Drako. This conversation only confused the present spectators who did not know what was happening.

"You know me, my mind changes at the drop of a hat. So are you going or am I going?" asked Liok.

"-sigh- Let me. If I go I can get it done quick and simple." Replied the long-haired boy, who got up from his chair and walked to one of the walls. A door appeared as if it had always been there and opened, showing an infinite blackness "You lot can keep reading without me...you're lucky that the marshmallow with legs has a bleeding heart." Drako muttered the last part to Kushina, who was confused by the "authors" words.

"While Drako goes for the goal, let's get back to the reading." Liok said throwing the book on the air, which I plan to the table of "the children" being held by Shino who without saying anything started the reading.

-Chapter 4-

 **Sunlight streamed through the canopy of leaves, glistening off the numerous dewdrops that had collected on them while a gentle breeze carried along the soft chirping songs of the birds' overhead. All in all, it was a very tranquil and cheery scene that would many people smile.**

"Finally, something nice to start things off." Said a cheerful Tsunade, happy to see the scene starting on a higher note than where they'd left off. Everyone else present could only agree with her.

 **Naruto was not one of those people at this moment, his face locked in a completely emotionless expression as his bloodshot eyes refused to lift from the muddy ground he was trudging on, dried tear trail framing his cheeks. His movements were stiff and robotic, only truly moving thanks to others nudging him along every few minutes.**

"Odd way to know if you're alive." said Kakashi watching the scene, but also watching his teacher's wife out of the corner of his eye. Kushina's eyes were locked on the screen, waiting to see a better scene.

"Definitely a better way than getting poked by a stick." Jiraiya griped. He remembered how Naruto had treated him whenever he was discovered by women and they beat him up. Those present smiled, knowing who the wise yet perverted toad was referring to.

 **"It's been almost three days; how long do you think he'll be like that?" Yugo asked Ruel while glancing back at the depressed teen. After his little tantrum, Naruto had all but shut down, only really reacting to the word around him when he needed to eat, use the restroom, or when something important/interesting was happening. Such as when Dally accidently buried himself via rocky avalanche when he tried to catch a wild gobbal for dinner.**

"Pfffff! Oh kami that's ridiculous! Not being able to catch a simple animal!" Kiba burst out laughing at the thought of the scene. The others all agreed; it sounded like something that only Dallycould achieve (and Naruto in some cases).

 **Said old man sighed with a shake of his head. "To be honest Yugo, he may never recover. This isn't something like a friend passing away or a family home burning down. I would rather loose every ounce of gold I own than have to go through what that lad is experiencing."**

"Not the words I would use, but I can definitely agree with Ruel-san." Might Guy stated seriously. This normally would have surprised the others (the rookie 10) but knowing what the current situation was they could only agree.

 **"Well maybe if** _ **someone**_ **had a little more tack, we could have eased the news on him a little easier instead of smashing him with it like a rampaging Bwork." Amalia said sourly, her arms crossed over her chest.**

 **"Oh and I'd just love to hear how you intended to do that your highness." Ruel snarked back with a roll of his eyes.**

"True, he could've been a little more sensitive with the subject." said Ino, who believed that the topic could have been easier to address.

"This may sound rude, but ... maybe it's better that way." Kakashi said, to the surprise of all but those who were at the same table. They just kept quiet but if you looked closely, both Kushina and Minato were trembling slightly.

"How could you say something so cruel Kakashi-sensei?! This is Naruto we're talking about! How could it possibly be a better option?!" Sakura shouted furiously at her teacher, who didn't seem affected by her screams. The others looked about ready to join Sakura in giving the Jounin of team 7 a tongue-lashing, with the exception Shikamaru who was leaning on his hands with a serious attitude and Shino, who was also thinking something similar to the Nara.

"I agree with Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru declared suddenly, surprising his companions out of their outrage.

"Say what?! Shikamaru, how could you say that?! That's just cruel!" Ino screamed at her teammate.

Shikamaru didn't even flinch at her outburst. "Maybe from a humanitarian point of view, but from a practical point of view? It's better to kill the hopes once and for all, than to find out later and make the blow even worse than it already is." The Nara said, once again surprising everyone present (except the adults and Shino) "It may be cruel, but it's for the best." the black-haired genius explained calmly.

 **"Would you two quit arguing already? You've been at each-others' throats all day." Eva cut in from her position at the front of the group with Dally and the talking map. "Besides, we have other things to worry about." She said while pointing ahead, getting everyone, even Naruto, to look to where she was gesturing towards and freeze.**

"Did I just hear something about a talking map?" Minato said, curious about that contraption.

"Yep, and that's just the tip of the iceberg" an amused Liok commented.

 **Somehow, the entire area ahead of them had gone from lively, thriving, and beautiful to decaying and shadowed thanks to the unnatural amount of cloud cover, even having a literal line where it cuts off between the two. Situated in the middle of this horrible landscape was a small, bleak looking town with a large ominous castle. "That… is rather disturbing." The depressed blonde couldn't help but mutter, the natural energy in the area making him shiver from the mild tainted feeling it held.**

"H-how could something like this happen." a dismayed Kurenai demanded.

"Well, I know of a few jutsus that are capable of causing something similar, but never as bad as that." said Minato, remembering his time in the war. He had seen techniques that seemed to be something from fantasy stories, but nothing like this.

"What could affect the environment this seriously?" asked an equally dismayed Jiraiya.

"Hmm…. Of the oh-so-many things that I've seen ... you know what, I'd be better if I showed you." Liok declared. He clapped his hands and the screen changed to show an island, only said island had a great defect/wonder. It was divided into two parts, one that looked like a raging inferno and the other seemed to be completely frozen in ice.

"Wh-what the hell is that place?!" asked a distraught Tsunade. Never in all her time living had she seen anything like what she was seeing now.

"Dear Kami. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd have never believed it." said a surprised Neji when he saw the scene of chaos.

"This is incredible...Yet it's simply not natural…" Kushina breathed as she watched the scene more closely, unintentionally taking the words out of the mouth of the Nara who nodded in agreement.

"Too right, and you'd better believe it. I myself am actually capable of causing something like this effect." said Liok with a grim pride.

"Must have been one hell of a devastating technique to cause something like that. Surely it was a large group of people if they managed to do something of that size." Chouji said and the group could only agree with him, even the adults.

"Yes and no. If you guessed that it was a technique then correct, but the fact is this was not caused by a group of people, this was done by only two people in a fight." the owner of the place finished it completely, this only scared those present, who the hell are damn strong to alter the environment itself.

"Take note when I tell you that in the ninja world, there is only a select group of people who can do stuff like that. In fact, there are three people who are capable of doing something similar or worse; one is out there doing who knows what, the other is currently petrified, and the last is sealed on the moon." Said a joking/serious Liok, not wanting to mention the third being.

"Wait wait wait! you're telling me that Naruto can do something like that?! ...Wait...who are two others." asked a fearful Kiba. Liok just started to laugh like a crazy maniac, meanwhile the others were amazed Naruto, the guy whom they already knew as something of a powerhouse, was able to reform the environment itself.

"Hold on, how could Naruto possibly possess such power? It's true that he has the Kyuubi but still…" said Kakashi. As far as he knew, his student was nowhere near that powerful.

"Maybe right now, but in a few months if Naruto hadn't been petrified, he would have obtained all that power and more. If I remember correctly, enough power to be capable of destroying the moon or at least leave a serious crater." Liok's statement was even more impacting to those present. ' _Technically I wouldn't say he reached the 'destroy' level, but seeing their expressions is priceless!'_ He thought to himself with a smirk.

"…and who is the other who has that much power?" Tsunade asked with dread. She did not want ninjas of that disastrous level of power out there running freely as if nothing could stop them.

"It's ironic, but you already know the other one perfectly. After all, he was the one responsible for Naruto ending up in the hospital in critical condition all those years ago." He commented to those present while watching Kushina surreptitiously, hoping she wouldn't have another violent reaction.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said in a whisper who by his surprise reclined more in the armchair, if she had been standing sure she would have fallen for such news.

"Wait, you're telling me that the Uchiha has that much power?!" asked a worried Shikamaru.

"Sasuke? As in the son of Mikoto?" Kushina asked in general for the whole group.

"Yes Kushina-sama, that Sasuke." Kakashi replied to his master's wife, but internally he was worried about how she would react to Naruto's fight with Sasuke at the Valley of the End.

"Before any more questions, I suggest we continue with the book. When we finish up, I will explain the current situation." Liok said, noting that if they continued with this train of thought they would not finish today. Add that to the fact that Drako had cut his link with him for some reason was not good, whatever was happening.

 **Amalia had a similar reaction once she placed her hand on one of the dead looking trees for a few seconds before recoiling. "Something is very wrong with this place, nature has been twisted here."**

"And what comes to my head first is "how much" has been twisted?" Jiraiya asked seriously. Being a sage meant he was very close to nature and if something was affecting nature this bad, it was no wonder that he would feel disturbed.

 **"Oi map! Do we really have to pass through here to get to Oma Island?" Dally asked, unrolling the seemingly blank map until an orange smiley face appeared with a mischievous snicker.**

"DA FUCK!" Kiba howled in shock. Most of those present found the object curious, but those who were more interested were adults.

 **"Why of course! See for yourself!" It said before its appearance morphed into that of an actual map, showing both the area they were in and the place they were headed into. "The only way to go is through the quaint little village of Forfut. Don't worry though, it's a nice place, real lively." As soon a she said this, the dead body of a ball shaped bat with tiny wings landed on the ground in front of them with a sickening *Splat***

"My definition of nice is another thing entirely." Neji commented watching the scene.

"Agreed." was the general opinion of most of the girls. They may be kunoichi's but that didn't mean it wasn't repulsive to see the scene.

The adults on the other hand had a thousand thoughts running through their minds. Years of fights, odd places and strange situations only made them react to this peculiar scene.

 **"Yeah… lively." Eva repeated sarcastically with a roll of her eyes as she marched forward. "Let's just get this over with."**

 **"Hopefully we'll be able to get something to eat alt least. I'm starving." Dally said with as he held his grumbling stomach.**

 **"No kidding, I could eat a whole gobbal." Yugo added in with Ruel nodding in agreement… after he discreetly ate an entire fish that he pulled out of his bag.**

At that precise moment the brains and beauty of team 10 looked at their big-boned companion. When he noticed the looks he was receiving, he leaned away in confusion. "…What?" Chouji shouted/asked.

"That's more or less what you do when there's little food left. You always gorge it down behind our backs!" Ino growled strictly to her friend. The big-boned ninja was about to argue until "Don't even try to fuck with me! You know it's true!" the Yamanaka shouted, knowing exactly what he was gonna say.

 **"Then maybe you boys shouldn't have eaten all of our food at once. We told you to be more conservative, now look where it's left us." Amalia told the three off, wagging her finger in front of their faces for added emphasis. "You'll just have to deal with it till we get there."**

"So typical of the men." all the women agreed, not even listening to the claims of protest from their friends/partners/husband.

 **"Fine, how about we just stop talking about food, it's making me hungrier." Ruel suggested, inadvertently causes Amalia to recoil as his fish-breath washed over her.**

 **"By Sadida! When was the last time you brushed?!" She demanded between coughs as she pinched her nose shut and waved her hand in a fruitless attempt to dissipate the horrid stench. "It smells like something died and was left to rot in the sun for several weeks!"**

 **"Oh quit being dramatic, it's not that bad." Ruel huffed, laughing internally as the simply action made the plant princess freak out even more. "I know, how about you tell us how the you and Evangeline first met."**

Ino felt her inner investigator (read: gossiper) activate by listening to those words. What better way to encourage the state of mind as to know why a warrior and a princess are best friends.

 **"That's a little out of the blue, why the sudden interest?" The Cra asked, looking back at the old man with a raised eyebrow.**

 **"Simple curiosity really," Ruel said with a shrug. "Most of us have been travelling together for almost a month now and we still barely know anything about each-other."**

"So that's how long they've been together. Understandable, if we consider how they interact with each other." said Minato, who now understood why the group seemed a bit dysfunctional.

 **Mulling it over in her head for a few moments as she walked, Eva eventually gave a small nod as she conceded to his point. "Fair enough. Amalia and I have been companions since we were little. I was assigned as one of her ladies-in-waiting when just after she turned five." A nostalgic smile slowly worked its way across her lips. "In fact, the first time we met was when she had decided to try out dressmaking by herself."**

 **As the elf-girl spoke, Amalia groaned loudly. "Ugh, not this story, it's soooo embarrassing."**

 **Unfortunately for her, Eva just smirked wider while continuing to talk. "I stood outside her room for two hours with the royal tailors since she wanted the outfit to be a surprise. When she finally did show herself though, it took every single ounce of my etiquette training to keep a straight face at the ridiculous sight."**

"Oh Kami, it must've been so bad~" An interested Ino giggled, followed by Sakura who was also paying attention to the talk of the Cra.

 **"Come on! It wasn't that bad, and I was only five for Sadida's sake."**

 **"Amalia, it WAS that bad. That 'outfit' had so many flashy baubles and decorations on it that it might as well been a walking gift shop." The greenette opened her mouth to say something in her defense, but no words came out and she eventually just clicked her jaw shut and looked away with a huff as her cheeks turned slightly red. "Anyway, like I said it was my first day as a lady-in-waiting, I had no idea what to do when I saw her wearing that silly thing."**

Just then, the screen changed the image to show the "dress" made by the Sadida princess. The reactions didn't take long to follow.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Kushina was the first person to burst out laughing when she saw the image, followed swiftly by Jiraiya and Tsunade. Then came Shizune and… well you can already get an idea of how things went from there.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! HA HA ... HA..HA ... That's no dress, that's a desperate call of "Look at me! Here I am!"" The redhead wheezed, recovering the air. On the other side of the table the rookie ninjas were in stitches. Shino did not express himself in the same way as the others but if you looked closely you would see how his shoulders trembled, giving away that he was laughing. Hinata on the other hand only had the sleeves of his hands covering his mouth to "try" to disguise her laughter.

"OH KAMI! AND HERE I THOUGHT NARUTO'S JUMPSUIT WAS AN ABOMINATION OF FASHION! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ino roared with laughter.

"AAHAHAHAH! MY SIDES! THEY HURT SO MUCH! ROWR!" Kiba shouted, rolling on the floor and clutching the sides of the stomach, all the while laughing at the scene.

"OOOOH! BUT THAT DRESS SO YOUTHFUL!" Lee screamed.

"YOOOOSSSHHH! WE NEED SOMETHING EQUALLY YOUTHFULL FOR US MY DEAR STUDENT!" Gai also screamed. Student and teacher were about to jump up and do their amazing (read: horrifying) sunset of youth, if it weren't for the mass of strings making a comeback to tie them to their seats again. (They don't pay me enough for this man ... Wait a minute, they don't even pay me at all!)

After everyone had calmed down a bit, Shino was about to continue with the reading until a dark wooden door suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. This put a stop the leftover laughter to pay attention to what was about to happen. The door slowly opened to reveal an infinite void of darkness ... then Drako's head popped out with a blank expression.

"Uh Liok, we may have a problem," He said dully.

"Now what did you do ya bastard?" Asked an exasperated Liok. Couldn't he perhaps have just a moment of tranquility in his life.

"Well...you see…I think I might've gone a little too far." the black-haired man admitted, still was not showing the rest of his body.

"How far did you go?" Liok asked tiredly, dreading the answer.

"About 10 years." Madara's look-a-like replied.

"I told you it was 4 years! 4! How is it possible that you go back 10?!" The exasperated author berated his colleague.

"You know as well as I do that this world is still in the middle of creation, so there are always chronological errors! -sigh- Look, can you work with this or not?" Drako asked, just as exasperated.

"Well ... now that I think about it, it works out better this way. Not exactly as I wanted, but what can ya do?" Liok said to himself. The spectators were confused about the conversation the two having. Minato was about to speak on behalf of everyone but was struck silent, when the rest of Drako's body emerged from the door.

His entire body was full of cuts and numerous kunai's were nailed in different parts of the body, especially near the legs. Before anyone could say something however, they noticed that he was holding something. And when they saw him completely ... they felt their legs weakening and their breathing went from stable to erratic; right there, holding hands with Draco, was Naruto.

Only in this case, a Naruto that couldn't have been older than six years old!

"N-Na-Naruto?" Stuttered Kushina, momentarily forgetting that anyone else was here, only focusing on the boy standing beside the Madara-lookalike. Apparently saying his name got the attention of the little boy, who turned his gaze in the direction of whoever had called his name. When he saw a crying red-haired lady standing next to a blond-haired man, he started pulling the hand of his guide to get his attention, which he did.

"I-is she?" the young Naruto asked with total shyness along with touches of emotion. Drako, seeing this, he got on his knees to look the boy in the eyes and just smiled.

"Yup, that's her alright." Drako said with a small smile. He didn't have to wait long before the boy let go his hand and run into the arms of the woman crying, not that Kushina had put up resistance; rather she opened her arms the instant he started approaching her.

"Kaa-san!" He screamed with tears in his eyes as he clutched the redheaded woman's clothes with all his strength. Kushina couldn't do anything to stop the identical waterfall of her own tears. At last, after what seemed like years, she was holding her cute baby in her arms. He was big, bigger than the first time she'd held him, but that still didn't take away the joy of finally having him in her arms.

But what really filled her heart with joy, were the words "kaa-san".

"Just- how did you-?" Jiraiya didn't get a chance to finish speaking before somehow, Drako submerged into Liok's body and disappeared.

"Let's just say that it recently occurred to us to bring little Naru here. Originally he was going to bring the 12-year-old version of him, but as you can see he brought the 6-year-old version instead." Liok explained while watching as Kushina cradled the little Naruto, who had fallen asleep from excitement and so much crying in his mother's arms. Minato was just sitting next to her humming along with his wife, but he was just as happy showing a few drops of tears in his eyes.

"That Drako guy is right; you are a marshmallow." Jiraiya said. In response to the happy scene, Liok did nothing apart from putting a smile on his lips. With a gentle movement of his hands he separated the chair from where the adults were sitting (thus creating a third armchair that It was located between the other two) where the family rested, reunited at last.

The others, mostly the adults and the girls, could only smile warmly upon seeing the heart-warming scene. The boys on the other hand did not know how to react; they knew they loved familial love, but to what extent could Naruto's loneliness be for his reunion with his parents to be like this. Shino decided that it was better to continue reading, in order to distract the curious looks and leave the family to their happy moment.

 **In response, Eva burst into a small fit of giggles while Amalia's cheeks turned even redder. "I told her my honest opinion, that she looked like a gobbal. She ignored me however and proceeded to wear the outfit all day as we went around the kingdom. For months, the people called her Princess Gobbal." She said before busting out in laughter, with everyone but Amalia and Naruto joining in seconds later though the whiskered blonde did smile lightly.**

 **"I should have had them all thrown in the royal dungeons! See them laugh after that!" Amalia yelled in indignation, which only caused the gang to laugh louder. "Don't tempt me! I'll do the same to you!"**

"Sounds like someone we know." Shikamaru and Chouji commented in sync, only to be smacked in the head by their female companion.

"I am not like that!" she snapped at the duo, only to have them look at her with deadpan expressions which caused her to back off slowly, this only amused the kids who could attest to that because of the attitude of the Yamanaka they did not doubt that if she was a princess and they told her that she would send them to the dungeon.

 **The group continued to talk as they walked, Ruel told of his times as a bounty hunter with Alibert, Yugo talked about growing up in his home town. Dally even managed to get Naruto to briefly chuckle when he described some of his misadventures before meeting them, such as when a Bwork stole all his kamas while dressed up as a princess.**

"How in the name of Kami-sama is it possible to confuse a Bwork with a princess?!" said Tenten to see how on the screen changed to a cartoon scene of what was told by Dally.

"I think so many blows to the head left him with brain problems." Neji said flatly.

"Oooh but what a princess with so little youth!" Said a tearful Lee. His teammates could only sweat the big drop for that.

 **Eventually everyone had shared something about themselves except for the enigmatic ancient blonde teen, and while everyone was extremely curious about his past, nobody wanted to possibly push the blonde even deeper into depression by bringing it up.**

 **Luckily for them, it was an unnecessary fear as Naruto surprisingly opted to speak without a prompt. "Guess it's my turn then, hmmm…" He rubbed his chin in thought. He was in a slightly better mood as the story telling helped distract him from his depression, if just for the moment.**

 **"Well, there was my first official mission as a shinobi. It was supposed to be a simple escort and protection job for an old drunk bridge builder Tazuna-Jiji. Heh, almost failed that mission before we even left when I tried to pummel him into the ground for calling me short." He said with a dry wistful chuckle.**

"Oh geez, not that mission." Groaned an exasperated Sakura; she still had bad memories of that mission. Looking back on it, she hated herself for being so freaking useless at that time. Back then she was just a damsel in distress who always needed to be rescued. But no longer...never again.

"What exactly happened on that mission Sakura?" The godaime asked her student, who suddenly became tense as well as her teacher.

"Well, let's just say that the mission turned out to be two ranks higher than it was supposed to be." Sakura explained, sweat pouring from her forehead. If her teacher found out what happened on that mission, there was no doubt that neither she nor Kakashi would live to see tomorrow.

 **"You said supposed to be. I'm guessing something unexpected happened." Ruel said, speeding up his stride slightly until he was walking right next to Naruto as they traversed across the dead craggily terrain.**

 **"Right in one Jiji, turned out Tazuna's home Nami no Kuni had been taken over by this cruel midget businessman called Gato. The Teme was rapidly strangling the economy into nothing by monopolizing the fishing and shipping industries. Because of that, Tazuna lied about the difficulty of the mission when he paid Konoha for the protection detail and instead of a more experienced squad he got me and my teammates."**

"You're telling me that you did that mission?! That was almost an A-rank?!" Tsunade roared at the remains of the team 7 furiously, who at this time looked like they wanted to be swallowed by the earth.

"M-mah mah! It wasn't that bad Tsunade-sama!" The cyclops said in a attempt to pacify the blonde, only to receive a fulminating look from the woman.

"Um, while it's fun and all to see Kakashi get scolded for his laziness, need I remind you there are people trying to sleep in here?" Liok interjected calmly pointing to the family in question, who had moved slightly due to the shouts of the Hokage. Tsunade snorted before giving one last look at both Kakashi and her student.

 **"You had a team? What was it like?" Yugo asked excitedly, once again enraptured by the story though now Amalia had joined him as she stood beside him with an identical expression on her face. Instead of answering verbally, Naruto reached inside his jacket and fished out an old battered photograph. Glancing at it briefly, a somber look settled across his face before he held it out while everyone huddled in for a look.**

 **On it was a younger naruto, roughly 12-13, wearing a bright orange outfit with a large white puffy collar. The picture him was trading glares with a brooding raven-haired boy whose head looked like a duck's rear end. Standing between them was a girl with bubblegum pink hair and an awkward smile on her face while a masked silver-haired man leaned over the trio and ruffled the two boys' heads. "The Teme on the right is Sasuke, the pretty girl is Sakura-chan, and finally the guy behind us is Kakashi-sensei."**

"He still has that picture?" Sakura asked herself with a smile. She remembered the easier times when both Sasuke and Naruto were still teammates and hadn't yet gone their separate ways. She had lost her copy of the picture during Pein's attack, so it was a little nostalgic to see that image again.

 **"Wow! This painting is so detailed! Its almost like I could walk right into it. You can't even feel the brushstrokes." Amalia said, running her fingers over the smooth surface of the photo in awe until Naruto pulled his arm back and put the picture away. "Whoever made that must have been an amazing artist."**

"Wait, painting?" Shizune faintly asked, dismay plastered over her face.

"If they think that it's a painting, then…" Shino trailed off.

"… that means that things like electricity and radios no longer exist!" Exclaimed Kurenai.

"But…how?" asked a bewildered Minato.

"Let's just say catastrophes and their aftereffects are both incredible and hard to believe." replied an enigmatic looking Liok.

 **"Not really, watch this." Naruto said while once again reached into his jacket, this time pulling out a small scroll. Unrolling it to reveal a variety of small clusters of odd squiggly drawings, Naruto placed a finger on one of them causing it to release a small puff of smoke. When it cleared, he was holding what looked like a really blocky spyglass to the others with the kanji for 'The Peeper keeper 3,000' and 'Property of Jiraiya' on either side. "Smile," The blonde said as he pointed it at Amalia and Yugo and pushed the button.**

"Ah, so he has the reliable old girl. That camera was a great help to me during my research time; so many hours of hard work and inspiration~" Jiraiya declared with an air of wisdom surrounding him. Maybe if he had been paying attention to his surroundings, he would have seen Tsunade's punch coming.

"Shino? Please continue before I try to kill him this time." The blonde Hokage growled through gritted teeth.

 **With a soft click, a piece of paper slid out the front of the device that he grabbed and started shaking it while sealing the camera back into the scroll. After a minute or so he stopped and held it out for them to see the fully developed image of Yugo and Amalia's confused faces. "Ta-da."**

 **"Cool!" x2**

 **Smiling lightly at the looks of wonder that crossed the group's faces as they looked over the photograph, Naruto waited a bit before continuing. "Anyway, we quickly learned the truth when we were attack by a pair of nukenin called the Oni Kyōdai barely a day after we left…"**

"Wait a second- "

"Shino continue, quick!" Kakashi shouted frantically.

 **The next hour was filled with Naruto telling of the Wave mission. He described how his team had decided to continue on after the revealed falsification, mostly thanks to a combination of Tazuna guilt tripping them and the genin's stubborn nature. Then he told of Tazuna's plan to save his home and the first battle with Zabuza the Kirigakure no Kijin, where Kakashi had gotten caught and it was only thanks to Naruto's quick thinking that they got out of that fight alive while Zabuza fled with a false hunter-nin named Haku.**

 **He even used a technique called the Henge no Jutsu to turn into the people he was mentioning for added affect. Their reaction to Zabuza and Haku were quite humorous, with Amalia shrieking in fear at the sight of the giant blade wielding man and Dally gushing over Haku's appearance until Naruto revealed that the ice user was a guy.**

"Wait, you're telling me that beauty is a guy?!" The horrified Inuzuka cried.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. To this day it's still a mystery to me." Sakura admitted with a shrug. Jiraiya crossed his arms and gave a sagely nod.

"I don't blame you; those traps are always difficult to spot before it's too late." commented the pervert.

"What, did you fall for one once?" Asked a sleepy Kushina, who had been listening to everything regarding the conversation of her son's first mission, tightening her grip on Naru a little more. She turned after a moment to her right and saw that her husband had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

With a tiny smirk, she nonchalantly pushed him off the shoulder and let him fall to the floor face first. _'This is mother and son time, not mother, son and father time_.' Kushina thought to herself, watching as her husband complained about being voted out of the hug.

"Oh nononononono!" The pervert quickly denied. He had a reputation to maintain after all and didn't want to remember such terrible things.

 **Following that was the meeting with Tazuna's family, the training in the woods where Naruto had to demonstrate the tree walking technique with some difficulty as his control was off for some reason, the talk with an unmasked Haku in the woods, and finally the last battle where Gato, Haku, and Zabuza died.**

"Now you're telling me they learned to tree walk on a MISSION!" An angry Tsunade bellowed at Kakashi, who was hiding behind his chair shaking like a leaf.

"In my defense, I would like to emphasize that Tazuna lied to us about the mission ranking!" Kakashi desperately pleaded to his Kage.

"Excuses!" the Kage bellowed, throwing a punch at the poor jounin, who couldn't react in time to dodge the punch that sent him literally six feet under.

"Is that how it went down Sakura?" Ino asked her best friend, who seemed to find the ground quite interesting at the moment while Kakashi slowly pulled himself out of the ground.

"Y-yes." The Haruno girl half-answered, wishing that it was only what Naruto commented about the mission.

 **"With his arms to injured to use and nothing but a kunai in his mouth, Zabuza went right through the entire army of bandits, killing dozens of them before finally reaching that double-crossing midget and taking him out. He died soon after thanks to the wounds he had gotten, his last words being that he wished he would be able to join Haku in the afterlife. I know Haku felt the same as it started to snow moments later." Naruto said, finishing his tale just as they reached the outskirts of Forfut and night fell.**

Those present did not know what to think (the adults) if he could be a renegade ninja, but there was also the fact of killing for his student ... sometimes the ninja world was so complicated that you never knew it was black and white, adults they could only see a grey, a very dark grey but at the end of everything a grey.

 **"That… That's so sad yet so sweet." Amalia said with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes.**

 **"To perish in battle in a noble death! Especially when it is to protect your loved ones." Dally exclaimed while taking a dramatic pose until Eva smacked him on the back of the head.**

 **"Not to be the one to break the mood and all, but am I the only one creeped out right now?" She asked while gesturing to their surroundings. The entire village was rundown, with most of the buildings looking on the verge of collapse. Meanwhile the villagers looked like walking corpses, with sickly greenish skin and blank lifeless eyes that stared at the group as they passed with creepy smiles.**

"If I'm honest, I'd already be shaping chakra for a quick getaway." replied a sore Jiraiya who saw the scene and he could say that what he needed was a quick escape. Those present could fully agree and in case the place looked bad but the inhabitants were equally affected and began to sound alarms in the head of the ninjas.

 **"Now that you mention it," Ruel muttered as he adjusted his grasp on his shovel. "We shouldn't doddle. Let's hurry and find an inn, hopefully we'll be able to get something quick to eat before leaving in the morning."**

"For once I'd prefer not to eat, just leave the place while I could." Chouji muttered. They could say what they want but he could plainly see something was wrong with the town.

 **"Yeah, I agreeEEEP!" Amalia yelped when she rounded a corner and found herself face to face with the creepiest little boy she'd ever seen. Stumbling back from the surprise, the greenette almost fell over before Naruto caught her.**

 **"Easy there Happa-chan," He said while helping her back on her feet, missing the light blush that crossed her face at the close contact.**

'Gross.'The members of teams 7 and 10 thought as one, not noticing the look of unease of the Hyuga girl.

 _ **'Stop thinking about when you snuggled with him! Stop thinking about it! STOP IT!**_ **' She mentally screamed at herself, memories of those moments playing around in her head. "T-thanks," She muttered quietly while avoiding eye contact.**

Kushina, who had heard everything, could only smile. Her son may be stone, but apparently he would be far from lonely. Bringing Naru closer to her, she snuggled closer to the sofa to pay more attention to the story and to continue hugging her little son equally.

 **It didn't take long to find an inn, though food was out of the question as the only thing to be had was a horrible rotten slop called Mamaliga. To make matters worse, they were forced to spend the night after a thunder storm came in out of nowhere. So they rented two rooms, one for the boys and the other for the girls with everyone now fast asleep except for Naruto and Eva**.

"Oh boy! I'm so proud of you right now Gaki!" Jiraiya was ecstatic to hear this little development, only to be silenced a few moments later by a blow to his head on account of a sandal. Following the direction of its trajectory, he discovered the owner. Needless to say, the death glare Kushina was giving him shut him right up.

Minato tried another attempt to embrace his wife, only for Kushina to send him a dirty look that said, "Don't you dare!". It goes without saying that Minato was a bit dismayed by his wife's attitude toward him; of course she was always a tomboy in that sense but she was being a little more possessive with their child than he expected.

"My information on the Uzumaki's is a little lacking for my own taste, but it may be a while before she lets this go. I recommend trying to approach her very carefully unless you want to lose a limb or three." Liok advised, watching as Minato looked at his wife, who seemed to be looking at him as if she were trying to measure if he was a threat or not. Disturbing if you asked him.

 **Said blondes were currently in the hallway, standing just outside their rooms. Naruto had reverted back into his depressed state, but he was still aware enough of his surroundings to notice the discomfort that would cross Eva's face every few minutes. "You okay Surudoi-chan?"**

 **"Yeah, I just keep getting a strong feeling we're being watched." The elf-girl said, her grip on her bow tightening and relaxing as she tried to keep her cool. This wasn't to be however, as several heavy thuds above them immediately set her further on edge.**

"You know, I've always wondered if those words are spellbound or something. Because every time someone says that, something bad always happens." Ino thought to herself out loud, the others present could agree with her.

 **"Looks like it was for good reason." Naruto stated just as several dozen humanoid creatures with pitch black skin and skull like faces burst through the windows and ceiling. "Wake up the others! I'll keep them busy!" Without giving her a chance to respond, Naruto charged right at the group of monsters.**

"What are those things?" Kurenai asked the owner of the place, who simply gestured to the screen as if silently saying 'Just wait and see.'

 **Ducking under the wild swing of the nearest one, he returned the favor with a strong punch to the creature's torso, launching both it and the dozen or so behind it right back out the window they came from. Naruto then spun around and punted another one right through the ceiling while clotheslining two others.**

 _ **'Wow, these things are so… slow, and weak**_ **.' Naruto couldn't help but think as he calmed down, even looking a little bored as he continued to swat the things away like they were flies. These things were barely moving at genin speeds, their attacks were incredibly easy to predict and avoid, and the few that did land felt like they were coming from a child compared to what he had to deal with in the past.**

"Well...there goes all the excitement" said Tenten with a pout. She'd expected to see Naruto get into an epic fight as did the others, only to see nothing but a one-sided beatdown.

"From the point of view of a ninja it may seem lacking, but from the side of a civilian on the other hand..." Liok said to those present, who widened their eyes (minus the Nara and Aburame heirs). The adults knew from experience what he was referring to.

"Well, that must be a pain in the ass." Tsunade commented, wiping her hands of imaginary dust and leaving a traumatized (and brutally beaten) Kakashi on the floor.

 **"NO! EVANGELINE!" That boredom swiftly turned to worry however when he heard Amalia scream from across the building. Bulldozing his way through the horde of enemies, Naruto rounded the corner just in time to see an unconscious Eva get abducted by an unknown caped man in a twirl of cloth as Yugo, Ruel, Dally, and Amalia were being kept back by more of the zombie creatures.**

"How was she knocked out so fast?" Neji asked in confusion. He couldn't believe that the Cra warrior was defeated so easily.

"Magic." Was all Liok said; he didn't want to bother explaining every damn detail ... Drako was already affecting him ... shit.

"Who the heck is the emo anyway." Asked Kiba, pointing to Vampyro. Liok took a moment to answer, thinking what the best way was to respond.

"A contender for the title of king of the emos." He eventually said with a chuckle.

 **"Cursed ghouls, get out of the way!" Ruel yelled battering an entire swath away with his shovel. "We don't have time for this, that Vampyro guy is getting away!"**

 **"Not if I have anything to say about it! Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he put his hands into an odd cross sign as a massive amount of smoke erupted everywhere. When it cleared, both the ghouls and the group stopped cold at the sight before them. The entire building was filled to the brim with copies of the ancient ninja, each one cracking their knuckles in a threatening manner. "Charge!"**

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Jiraiya declared with a grin.

"I suppose that's one word you could use for it." Shikamaru said with a smirk from his current position, lying down on the floor.

" **Hai Boss!" x a lot**

 **It was a bad day to be a ghoul.**

"Tell me about it." Neji muttered, shivering slightly while remembering the Chunnin exams when he fought with Naruto.

 **-Moments later, Ominous Castle-**

"Brilliant name~" Tsunade drawled while drinking her second bottle of sake that "coincidentally" was one of the best and most expensive drinks in the whole country, all with the excuse of wanting to lower the headache caused by hearing about the first C-RANK mission of her grandson figure.

 **In a twirl of black cloth, Vampyro and Eva appeared inside a large chamber within the darkly decorated chamber. With a casual flick of his hand, his cloak set the Cra's unconscious form into the middle of a ritual platform that swiftly lit up with purplish black energy. Said energy then proceeded to make her slowly float off the ground as pitch black markings began to slowly worm their way across her form.**

"And here I thought Orochimaru was obsessed with crazy rituals." Jiraiya declared with distaste in in his voice, a sentiment shared by his teammate.

 **"Soon, soon my love you will have a new body all of your own." He said in a loving tone as he held up one fist up to his face, revealing a demonic looking black ring stylized like a bat with a round glowing purple gem. As he spoke, a small silhouette of a face appeared with a soft feminine giggle.**

"Ugh, talk about bad jewellery." Said a disturbed Ino upon see the ring, Sakura nodding in agreement.

 **"Yes, once the transfer is complete. Then the two of us shall rule over this world together forever my dear Vampyo." The ring said with a dark chuckle, one that Vampyro quickly joined in with.**

"That doesn't sound like something in your head." Chouji commented to his friends as teachers, who were thinking along the same lines.

 *** BOOOOM! ***

"Mama's home!" Kushina giggled, back to her usual self for the first time since her cute and helpless(?) son had returned.

 **"What was that!?" The ring yelled as an explosion suddenly caused the entire castle to shake, swiftly followed by several smaller ones in various different directions.**

 **"Probably those idiots we ditched back at that worthless inn. Don't worry Shadofang, I'll deal with them." Vampyro said confidently, giving the gem a gentle kiss before turning towards the large entranceway as it was blown off it hinges. Smiling widely, he began to prepare his grand entrance…**

"Typical villain." Said everyone present with a flat face. Like every bad guy in a bad movie they always had to prepare their grand entrance.

… **only to freeze when he found himself up against not only the group from before but also a literal army of angry whiskered blondes wielding everything from unusual knives to chunks of stone to even some of his ghouls as makeshift flails. Heck the only thing that wasn't being used was the kitchen sink. Wait nevermind, one of the clones near the back just hefted it onto their shoulder after bashing a ghoul with it.**

The laughter was certainly not lacking, but then again, who wouldn't laugh at the simply incredible sight of an army kicking the ass of one guy. Whoever said Naruto wasn't prepared for everything, was clearly an idiot.

"Ohohoho, this guy! Th-that's a classi-hi-hi-hic!" Jiraiya guffawed, remembering when his pupil had done something similar on a mission they took during his training trip, only that time he was using a frying pan, a cooking pot and a dildo...that was a really strange mission. He never did figure out how his godson had got ahold of the last object, but it was still funny to see the target they had to catch get beaten into unconsciousness by a dildo of all things. No doubt that guy's pride and dignity went straight down the drain.

 **Speaking of which, the vampire rip-off gapped in horror as he saw the complete and total ruin that used to be his castle. "What…what have you done to my ho-AAAHG!" He was cut off as one of the blondes appeared right in front of him and socked him hard in the face.**

 **"You know, I'm normally a really nice guy." Naruto said as he punched Vampyro again as he was trying to get up.**

"Right, nice, and I don't have the shittiest luck in the world!" Tsunade snarked, reaching for her fifth bottle.

 **"But unfortunately for you not only did you happen to catch me in a really, REALLY bad mood, but you also decided to kidnap Surudoi-chan." This time the blonde hit him with a heavy drop kick and embedded him several inches into the stone floor.**

"The chair! Go with the chair!" Shouted one of the spectators. Guess who it was.

 **"So guess what that means?"**

 **"Wha… wha… wha…" Vampyro failed to say anything coherent as his slowly pulled his bruised face out of the granite. Grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him up to eye level, Naruto grinned wildly while holding up his clenched fist.**

"That's it Naru-chan, defend your girl!" Kushina cheered, not noticing (or ignoring, depends on the case) the sullen look of the Hyuga girl and the sour look of the eight-team teacher to see her student.

 **"It means you just volunteered to be my stress relief punching bag. And between you and me, I have a lot of kuso to get off my chest."**

"Damn, I'd hate to be in that guys shoes right now." Kiba said quietly, slightly intimidated by the downright feral expression on the blonde's usually-grinning face.

"Amen, -sigh- troublesome." The Nara genius concurred.

 **"…mercy?" Vampyro begged meekly before he almost pissed himself from the blonde's next three words.**

 **"What is that?"**

 **"AAAHHHH!"**

 **What followed was a beating so thorough and brutal, no words could properly describe just it, especially after the clones joined in while the others freed Eva from the dark ritual she was being put through. It only ended twenty minutes later when Shadofang was accidentally dislodged from Vampyro's finger and released a large wave of purple light with a scream.**

"Wow. Just, wow." said Kurenai, so stunned at the sight of the beating that she had no other words to say. Those present were much the same except Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato and Kushina, whom were laughing like hell at the 'fight'. Jiraiya in particular kept having flashbacks to the one that involved a certain toy.

 **When it cleared, Vampyro was gone and in his place was a mildly bruised up redheaded man that was groaning in pain while all the ghouls gradually turned into miraculously unharmed regular civilians who looked around the place in confusion. At the same time, the dark gloomy atmosphere that had been encompassing the entire town dissipated within seconds, and life seemed to return to the land.**

"I knew there were objects and artefacts out there that could alter the surrounding area, but this is whole 'nother level." Jiraiya commented, eyes wide with surprise.

"Remember what I said earlier? You are barely scraping the tip of the iceberg." Liok reminded the wise pervert, who at the moment had so many questions stewing in his head but stayed quiet when Liok raised his hand saying, "Wait until later."

 **Completely lost at what was going on, Naruto dispelled his clones and scooped up the ring with a confused look. "What the hell just happened?"**

 **-Finish-**

"Well, this was a very…interesting chapter." said Shikamaru.

"Yes, and now I want some damn answers." Tsunade said casting a look at Liok, because she did not want to remain in the dark about these terraforming ninjas (ninjas of an equal or superior level to Madara and Hashirama).

"Fair enough I suppose. But before that, I think it's time for lunch, or breakfast in little Naru-chan's case." He responded, pointing to the mother and son couple. Apparently Naruto had finally woken up and the two had separated from the group to have a talk.

"…then jiji and the weird guys in masks were covered in paint and totally naked in the middle of the square! I didn't get ramen for a month but it was totally worth it…except for the ramen." The small and enthusiastic Naruto explained to his mother, who was laughing up a storm thanks to hearing of her son's prank on the hokage.

"Hahahahaaa! Oh what I would give to be to see the old man's face at that time!" exclaimed an euphoric Kushina. Her laughter then redoubled when her son took pulled a small picture out of his pocket, showing both the hokage and his ANBUS painted bright pink and completely naked, their decency spared only by the paint covering their private parts. In short, they were ridiculous.

The couple was interrupted by the arrival of a third party: Minato, who had tried and failed to approach his son to try and socialize with him but hadn't been able to before now due to his wife, who had cut off all interaction as soon as it was attempted.

"Hey Naruto, do you know who I am?" Minato asked, taking care of how to act as his wife began to grip his son in a hug, not missing the look of malice his beloved wife was giving him. If Liok was right and he wasn't careful, his wife would likely end up hitting him and hard.

"Ummm no, but you look a lot like one of the guys in the pictures hanging in the old man's office." The boy said, thinking deeply where he had seen this man.

"Well, I am your father." Minato said, pointing to himself with a big smile.

"Seriously?!" shouted the little blond. Not only had he just met his mother but now his father too?! It was a great day...he just hoped this wasn't one of those dreams where the same thing happened just to wake up alone.

"Yes Naru-chan, this is your father, but tou-san is going away for now because he has something important to do. Isn't that right dear~" Kushina asked her husband with so much sweetness that even Liok shuddered, and he was on the other side of the room.

"Y-Yes dear, but we will talk later okay Naruto?" the trembling Kage said to his son, who was oblivious to how his mother seemed to want to jump to his father and finish it right there.

-End Chapter


End file.
